Times Like These
by zzainishh
Summary: The war was getting worse and worse. The target on her back ever increasing due to her work on the Order of the Phoenix and her Professorship at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall decided that leaving home was the safest option for her family. Two excruciating years go by and she receives some horrifying news that brings her home right away. (Set during the First Wizard War)
1. TLT -- 1

Hi everyone,

This story is set during the first wizarding war and follows Minerva McGonagall through it. Timeline has been adjusted a bit and this war now takes place in the late nineties instead the eighties. I hope you like it. Thank you for reading.

* * *

 _ **Friday, December 19th 1997**_

The train had pulled out of the Hogsmeade station about an hour ago with only about six children inside. Most of the students were staying at school over the Christmas break this year. With the war raging on Hogwarts was the safest place for them. The school had also begun housing families of students who were at the most risk. Many Muggleborns and their children stayed at the castle, along with families of higher ups in the Ministry, families of Order of the Phoenix members and families of many of the professors. A strange wartime routine had formed at the school. Many of the adults who were staying at the castle had started pulling their own weight. Some had come together to form a sort of day care for the smaller children so that they wouldn't disrupt classes or cause trouble. Others had developed tutoring sessions to help students with their homework. Adult only Quidditch teams and adult only Defense classes had also formed to keep the people who had nothing better to do occupied. These games and classes helped keep morale up a bit. People were beginning to forget how things used to be. They were beginning to forget how Christmas used to be. The festive season seemed to be getting less and less festive as the years of war passed. They were at a point where even though the trees and the decoration were up, Christmas still hadn't arrived. Christmas break which once left Hogwarts buzzing with excitement and warmth had no effect in these last two years.

With the added adult support to look after the students, however, the professors whose families were not at Hogwarts were able to leave for the winter break. Many of them stayed at the castle anyways, though. Opting to stay and help out. Minerva McGonagall, however, was not one of these professors. Instead, here she stood in the cold December snow in front of the large front doors of her late husband's Rochester mansion. She pulled her coat closer around herself as she tried to build up the courage to ring the doorbell. The unforgiving winds blew up her sleeves and fluffy snowflakes settled in her greying hair. Her hair was out of its usual tight bun atop her head style, instead just open and flowing down her back. She had a hard enough time getting out of bed lately, let alone doing her hair. She stood on the step for only a second until finally, in one quick motion without thinking too much, Minerva reached out and pushed the doorbell button. She heard the familiar chime of the bells and waited for someone to open the door and invite her out of this frozen tundra. The longer she stood out on the front door step, she feared, the more likely someone would see her.

After a couple of excruciating moments the door opened. An eighteen year old Daniel Collins opened the door and, upon seeing who was there, went wide eyed. Of all the people to show up at his door now, his stepmother was among the last he would have guessed. She had left two years ago and was nowhere to be found when they had needed her the most. He had begun to think she would never come home. Yet here she stood in his doorstep probably expecting him to welcome her with open arms. He felt the anger build up inside of him but couldn't find his voice in order to speak.

Nobody said anything for a long time. Minerva watched him closely. Daniel was a spitting image of his father with the same tanned skin, messy black hair and grey eyes. She could see Daniel's hand twitch every so often as if he was debating just slamming the door closed in her face. He was so much older than he had been the last time she was here. He looked so much like his father.

Finally Minerva spoke, "Hello Dan-"

"What are you doing here?" Daniel interrupted her, finally finding his voice. His face shifted from an expression of surprise to one of anger. He glared at her and Minerva couldn't help but think of that old expression, if looks could kill.

"I - I heard about what happened," she whispered, tears already filling her eyes. She did her best to blink them away. She needed to be strong right now. She wouldn't be able to explain herself properly if she devolved into tears. Daniel just stared at her. "May I come in?"

He looked her up and down, took a deep breath and then nodded. Minerva felt relief wash over her. She was glad he hadn't just turned her away. He stepped to the right to allow her access into the house and quickly closed the door behind her. The warm house defrosted her fingers and toes. Daniel watched her take off her boots and hang her coat on a coat rack and then, without a word, turned around to walk towards the living room. Minerva quickly followed.

"Is Lucy home?" Minerva asked quietly.

Daniel nodded but didn't say anything. They walked in silence for a while. When they made it to the living room Daniel finally spoke again. "Sit."

Minerva sat down on the couch and was about to say something when a young Indian woman walked into the living room. She had long black hair that stopped about mid back and brown eyes. Her skin was a caramel brown much like Daniel's. She was quite tall coming up to a little passed Daniel's shoulders and wore black jeans with a light blue blouse. Nina Chaudhry said, "Daniel, I was - Oh, hello."

"Hello," Minerva said giving her a little smile.

"Nina, this is Lucy's mother, Minerva McGonagall," Daniel mumbled. He was standing in front of the coffee table. He did not make any move to sit down.

"Oh," Nina said, looking a little shocked. When she was finally able to pull herself together she walked over and stretched her hand out for Minerva to shake. "I'm Nina Chaudhry, Daniel's girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you Nina," Minerva replied shaking her hand.

"You too," Nina replied. "Um, Lucy is upstairs. She just got home from school so she went up to change out of her uniform." She looked over at Daniel. "Should I go get her?"

"No, I think that we have to talk first," Daniel muttered.

"Should I leave you two -"

"No, you can stay," Daniel said. She nodded and sat down in an armchair, knowing full well that Daniel wanted her to stay. Daniel looked back at Minerva. "Is the war over?"

Minerva looked over at Nina but before she could say anything Daniel spoke again. "She already knows."

"Oh," she said quietly. She turned back to Daniel and shook her head. "The war isn't over but... I heard what happened to Jay and... and I'm so sorry, Daniel! If I had been here... if I had... I could have... I'm just so sorry."

Daniel stared at her. Tears were rolling down Minerva's face now but for some reason that only made him angrier. She should have been here. She shouldn't have left. She should have come back sooner. They had gone through so much and he had needed her but she wasn't there and now it was too late.

"I just wanted to make sure you two were okay. I wanted to see you both," Minerva continued when he didn't say anything. "You two shouldn't -"

"So you'll be leaving again, then?"

"No, no, I'm here to stay," Minerva replied quickly. "If you'll let me."

"Even with the war still going on?" Daniel asked, glaring at her and crossing his arms.

"Well, I -"

Minerva stopped when she saw a little head sticking out through the living room door looking at her. Her six year old daughter's cloudy grey eyes were staring right at her, the expression on her face unreadable. Minerva gave Lucy Collins a little smile. Daniel turned around and saw Lucy standing there as well. He gave her a half smile. "It's okay, you can come in."

She walked into the living room and over to where Nina was sitting, staring directly at Minerva as she moved. Nina smiled at Lucy as she approached. Lucy sat down next to Nina in the armchair. Minerva watched her. Her long hair was braided, going down her back. She wore black jeans and a dark red jumper.

"Hello, Lucy."

"Hi..."

Daniel looked at Minerva and then back at Nina. Nina nodded slightly and said, "Alright, Lucy, how about we let Daniel and Ms. McGonagall talk for a little while? Are you hungry? We should get you an after school snack."

Lucy nodded and Nina stood up. Lucy took her hand as they walked towards the kitchen. Minerva heard Lucy say quietly, "Nina, that was my -"

"I know, love," Nina replied.

Minerva turned back to Daniel. He motioned for her to continue. "Um, well, I just don't want you two to be alone right now," she said. "I know that me leaving put a lot of pressure on you and then Jay... and I just don't want you to have to deal with everything alone."

"We're not alone," Daniel muttered. "Nina is here to help."

"She seems like a very lovely girl."

"She is," he said with a nod. "Uncle Raj also helped us out a lot. He basically lives here now, he's over so often. Maria makes sure we have groceries, things for school, and deals with any of Collins Enterprises stuff that I might have to look at. We're not alone. We have a lot of people who stayed to help us."

"I'm glad and I will personally thank Raj and Maria for everything they've done but I want to help as well," Minerva said. "I told you I would come back and I'm back."

Daniel looked at her for a long time without saying anything. Finally when he spoke his voice wasn't angry anymore. It was sad and hurt. "I believed you," he said quietly. "I believed you when you said you were coming back and then when Dad got sick I thought you would for sure but you never did. You left me to deal with everything on my own and... and I... I just don't know anymore. You're back now, sure, but the war is still going on so I can't be sure you won't leave again. You can't be here and then leave again. It will kill Lucy."

"I'm not going to leave again, Daniel," Minerva said. "I know it's hard to trust me now but I'm not going to leave. I love you and Lucy, I want to be here for you both. I don't care about the war right now. You two are my top priority."

"I - I went up to Castletown," he said. "I thought maybe Isobel could help but - but she wasn't there either. She left too."

"She's in Germany right now. Doesn't get back till tomorrow. I doubt she even knows what's happened," Minerva said with a sigh. "I'm sorry she wasn't there when you went up."

"I may have accidentally punched a hole through her door."

Minerva smiled a little. "I'm sure she won't mind. Easily fixed."

He doesn't say anything.

Minerva took a deep breath. "I know that it might be hard to understand and I don't expect you to forgive me right away but... but I had to leave," she said. "I had to fight this war, Daniel, and it killed me to be away from you all. I thought about giving up everything and just coming back here, forgetting all about the wizarding world and its problems but - but I couldn't do that. I had to keep fighting for what I believed in, for what was right. I couldn't let people die every day because of who they were or who their parents were. I know what I did hurt you and Lucy. I know what I did is not easy to forgive but I hope that in time you both will come to understand and accept my apology."

He stared at her for a moment before turning away. She watched him. She wished he would say something. She had said what she had felt. She had given her explanation, good or not, now it was his turn to decide. As time passed Minerva thought that maybe he was just going to ask her to leave. She would understand if he did but it would destroy her. She should have done a better job to prepare herself for that possibility. It wasn't till now that the idea really hit her. What would she do if he did? Probably get a room here in Rochester and keep trying. She wasn't going to leave them alone again.

Finally Daniel spoke and when he did Minerva heard the pain in his voice. It broke her heart. "I do understand," he said as if it hurt him to say it. He did not want to understand. He did not want to forgive her yet. He was still angry with her for leaving him to deal with everything on his own. He had to give up so much but he had done it because he loved his father and Lucy and he would give anything to protect them. Which is why he understood. But understanding is not always enough. He knew what he thought logically but that did not change what he felt emotionally. "I understand giving up things to take care of people you love."

"Of course you do," she said, tears filling her eyes again. "You have been so strong, my love, and I am so proud of you."

Daniel took a deep breath and moved to an armchair. He sat down, leaned forward on his elbows, and put his head in his hands. Minerva moved over on the couch closer to the armchair that Daniel had been sitting on. She put a hand on his back. "I am so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry for leaving. I wish I had been here, I wish I had known earlier."

"You're not going to leave again?"

"No, no, darling," Minerva whispered. "I'm here to stay, I promise."

There was silence for a long time until finally Daniel looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "I'm glad you're back," he said quietly, reaching over and giving her a hug.

Minerva smiled and hugged him back, resting a hand on the back of his head. "I'm glad I'm back too."

When they pulled apart Daniel said, "You'll probably want to talk to Lucy."

"Yes, that seems like a good idea," Minerva said with a smile. Daniel stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. Minerva followed him.

Nina was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner. She smiled at them when they entered. "Alright?"

"Yeah, we're good," Daniel replied. "Where's Lucy?"

"She decided to go upstairs," Nina said with a frown.

Daniel turned back to Minerva. "You know where her room is right?"

Minerva nodded. She turned and exited the kitchen. She walked up the stairs and down the corridor until she reached the door she was looking for. She knocked on the door.

"Come in," came a small voice from the other side of the door.

Minerva opened the door and looked inside. Lucy was sitting on the floor with her back against her bed. She had a book in her hands and her legs were stretched out in front of her. She looked up when Minerva opened the door but quickly looked back at her book when she saw who it was. Minerva sighed and came into the room. She closed the door behind her.

"Hi."

Lucy didn't respond. She watched her mother from the corners of her eyes. Minerva walked over to the little girl and sat down on the floor beside her.

"What are you reading?" Minerva asked.

"Nancy Drew," Lucy whispered, moving the side of the book so Minerva could see the front.

"That sounds nice," Minerva said.

Lucy looked her mother up and down for a moment before turning back to the book and saying, "you look the same."

Minerva smiled. "You don't," she said. "You're so much older now."

"My hair is longer."

"Yes it is. It looks really pretty," Minerva replied. "Did you braid it yourself?"

"No, Nina did it," Lucy replied, quietly. She closed the book in her hands and put it down on the ground. She pulled her braid over her shoulder and played with the end of it, still not looking at Minerva. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you."

Lucy frowned and let her hands fall to her side. "Why would you want to see me?"

Minerva looked down at her daughter but she was still avoiding looking at her. "Because I was worried about you," she said quietly. "And Daniel. I wanted to see you two and make sure you were okay."

"How long are you staying?"

"How long do you want me to stay?"

Lucy didn't respond. She finally looked up at her mother for a second and then stood up. Minerva watched her pick up her book and walk over to put it back on her bookshelf. She had a lot of Nancy Drew books. She also had a lot of comic books. It seemed that Daniel's love of comic books had rubbed off on her. They were all set on the bookshelf in alphabetical order. All her books were. Minerva smiled, she remembered alphabetizing her own books when she was younger.

"Daddy said that you would come back," Lucy whispered, her back still too Minerva. "Before he... died... but I didn't believe him."

"Lucy..." Minerva replied. Lucy turned around and looked at her. "I'm very sorry for leaving, my darling. I wish I never had and I don't expect you to understand but I hope you can forgive me, eventually."

Lucy walked over and sat down cross-legged in front of her mother with her hands in her lap. She stared at her mother for a second before frowning. "I'm pretty smart, you know," she said. "I can understand."

"Of course, I'm sorry," Minerva said with a small smile.

"Why did you leave?" Lucy asked, not smiling. She didn't want to joke. She wanted answers. Real answers.

"I had to leave because of work," she said with a sigh, "but I'm back now, darling."

Lucy's frown deepened. Work. That was a nothing answer and Lucy didn't like it. Minerva could tell that she wasn't buying it but it was the best answer she could give her right now. She didn't want Lucy to worry about war. Lucy was only six years old. It wasn't something she needed to know about right now. Instead Minerva decided to change the subject. She smiled a little and reached over to take Lucy's hands in hers. It seemed to take her by surprise but she didn't pull away. Minerva took this as a good sign.

"Now, why don't you tell me about yourself?" she said. "What have I missed? I want to know everything about you."

Lucy looked at their hands for a second before looking up at her mother again and shrugged a little. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I'm in year seven now."

"Year seven? Really?" Minerva asked with a smile.

Lucy nodded.

"That's wonderful," she said. "Aren't you supposed to be in your second year?"

Again Lucy nodded. "I had to take a test which placed me five years higher."

"That's excellent, love. I'm so proud of you!" Minerva replied with a smile. "You must really like school then, huh?"

"No, it sucks," Lucy mumbled, looking away. "Everyone is so much older than me and treats me like a baby but I met a girl named Anne who's really nice."

"Well that's good at least," Minerva said. "I'm sure the other kids will come around too."

Lucy didn't say anything. She looked back at her hands in her mother's. Minerva decided to change the subject. "So Christmas is coming," she said. "Are you excited?"

Lucy shrugged. "It doesn't feel like Christmas."

"I know, sweetheart," Minerva said with a sigh, running little circles on the backs of Lucy's hands with her thumb. "But maybe it will help cheer everyone up a bit."

"Daniel says we might go away for Christmas this year," Lucy mumbled.

"Oh?"

"Says that we might need a break from Rochester for a little while," she replied.

"Where are you going to go?" asked Minerva.

"I don't know," Lucy replied with another shrug. She looked back up at her mother. "Are you going to come?"

"If you want me to," Minerva said with a small smile.

Before Lucy could answer Nina's voice could be heard from downstairs. "Lucy, khaana!"

Lucy pulled her hands away from her mother and stood up. "It's time for dinner," she mumbled as she turned around and started walking out of the room.

Minerva stood up as well and followed her daughter down the stairs and into the kitchen. Daniel was sitting down with a plate of food in front of him already. Lucy walked to where Nina was standing and she handed the little girl a plate of her own. With the plate in hand, Lucy went and sat down across from Daniel at the table. Nina held out a plate for Minerva as well. Minerva thanked her, took it and then went and sat down at the table. Nina brought her own plate over to the table.

They ate quietly for a few minutes before Nina broke the silence. "So, Lucy how was your day?"

"It was okay," she said with a shrug, not looking up from her plate.

"Anything exciting happen?" Nina asked. "You probably had Christmas parties in most of your classes' right?"

"Yeah we had parties but nothing really exciting," Lucy mumbled.

"Um, alright," Nina said. She and Daniel exchange a look before she decided to just stop trying for now.

"How come Uncle Raj isn't here?" Lucy asked, looking up at Daniel.

"He had some late meetings and so he was going to be too late for dinner so he decided just to stay in London tonight," he said.

"Does Raj come over every night?" Minerva asked.

"Most nights," Nina said with a smile.

"He's been staying in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs," Lucy said. "He said that we could go skating tomorrow."

"Yes," Nina said. "We'll still go. The weather isn't supposed to be too bad."

"Do you know how to skate?" Daniel asked, looking at Minerva.

"I do somewhat," Minerva said. "I may be a little out of practice. Maybe you could help me, Lucy."

Lucy shrugged. "I'm not that good," she said. "Uncle Raj said he would help me."

"Last time we went, I think Lucy fell six time," Daniel said with a laugh. Lucy gave him a look making him laugh more.

Nina smiled and shook her head. She looked over at Minerva and asked, "so, you're a teacher?"

"Yes," Minerva replied.

"What do you teach?"

"I teach Transfigurations," Minerva said.

"It's the magic of changing one thing into another," Lucy said.

"That's right," Minerva said with smile. "I teach at a school called Hogwarts. Do you remember Hogwarts, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. "It's a castle."

"That's cool," Nina said. "So you're a witch. Like a real witch! Brooms and cauldrons and all?"

Minerva smiled. "Yes, I'm a witch. Brooms and cauldrons and all."

"Lucy's been reading the textbooks you left behind and has been practicing magic," Daniel said. "She's getting pretty good. Moving things around and stuff."

"Yeah... you want to tell Daniel what you did last week when it was your turn to empty the dishwasher?" Nina asked giving Lucy a look.

Lucy smiled and her cheeks turned a little red. She looked back down at her plate again. "I broke three plates."

Daniel looked at her for a second and then back at Minerva. "Well, she sort of moves things around."

Minerva laughed. "Well, she's still learning."

The four of them ate their dinner and then moved back to the sitting room to drink their tea. Daniel sat down on the couch with the television remote and flipped through the channels absentmindedly. Nina sat beside him and Minerva sat in an armchair. Lucy sat on the floor by Nina's feet in front of the coffee table with her notebook and colouring pencils. Minerva watched her draw and then looked over at Daniel.

"Lucy tells me that you are planning on leaving for Christmas," she said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he said, giving up on the television and leaving it on the food network. "All three of us have three weeks off of school so Nina and I were thinking that it might do us some good to get out of here for a little bit."

"Where were you planning on going?"

"We haven't decided yet," Nina said. She reached over and fixed a flyaway hair in Lucy's braid. "These two are honestly the most indecisive people you will ever meet. They will not make up their minds about anything. Planning with them is so hard."

"I told you that I was good with wherever you wanted to go," Daniel said.

"Me too," Lucy said quietly, looking around at Nina.

Nina smiled at Lucy and motioned for her to sit down on the couch next to her. Minerva watched as Lucy sat down next to Nina and leaned into her chest. Nina wrapped an arm around her. Minerva felt jealousy fill her. She wished that she could do the same. She wished that Lucy would come sit beside her and lean her head on her chest. Minerva wanted nothing more than just to hug her and do her hair and comfort her when she was sad. With a quiet sigh, Minerva pushed her jealousy to the side. She knew why things were like this. She had no one to blame but herself.

"I know, love," Nina said. "But you don't have any ideas of where we could go?"

"Um... Antarctica?" Lucy said with a smile.

"Antarctica? You want to go there in the middle of winter?" Daniel said with a laugh.

"Actually its summer in Antarctica right now," Lucy said matter-of-factly, making Nina and Minerva smile. "We could go hang out with the penguins."

Nina laughed. "She's got you there, Daniel," she said. "The seasons are reversed on that side of the world."

"I still don't want to go to Antarctica," he replied with a shake of his head. He looked over at Minerva. "Are you going to come with us, wherever it is we end up going?"

"If I'm invited," Minerva said.

"Of course you're invited," Nina said with a smile. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Um, well, my mother will be back from Germany tomorrow and will be hosting everyone over for Christmas as always," Minerva said. "We could go there if you would like."

No one said anything for a moment. Lucy looked over at her mother for a second. So her grandmother had been traveling. Her father hadn't lied. That's why they weren't able to go over last Christmas or the Christmas before. It wasn't because her nani didn't like her anymore.

"Scotland, right?" Nina asked and Minerva nodded. Nina looked over at Daniel. "Scotland sounds nice."

Daniel thought about it. Did he want to see Isobel and the others again right away? They stopped coming over because of the war too. Did he still blame them for that? He didn't know. He looked over at Lucy for a second before she finally looked at him.

Do you want to go? He asked without speaking. It was her grandmother after all. Lucy should decide if she wanted to go or not. It would be the hardest on her not him or Nina.

Lucy didn't know if she wanted to go. She knew Daniel was waiting for her to make the final decision but she wasn't good at doing that. She thought about it. She would love to see her nani again. She would love to talk to her but she had wanted to talk to her many times in the past two years and never got too.

Lucy sighed and gave Daniel a little nod. She would try. She would see what her nani had to say. Daniel smiled a little bit.

"Alright," he said. "We'll go. It might be fun. We haven't seen Lando, Flynn, and Lina in a very long time."

Lucy nodded a little. She suddenly felt very awkward and very unsure as too if she had made the right decision. She looked at Nina, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Okay," Nina said. "When should we get there? We should probably book the flight as soon as possible."

"Um, well I think my brothers will be arriving on Tuesday," Minerva said, "but we don't need to take an aeroplane. We can get there faster using magic."

"But Uncle Raj doesn't know about magic," Lucy said quietly.

"Uncle Raj isn't coming with us, kid," Daniel said. "He has work so he's just going to stay in London."

"But... but then he'll be all alone for Christmas," Lucy said.

"He'll be okay, don't worry, love," Nina said with a small smile. "We asked him if he wanted to come with us. He was the one who decided not to come. He said he just couldn't miss work right now."

"Okay..." Lucy mumbled.

"So, how are we getting there if we're not flying?" Nina asked, looking back at Minerva. She was very interested in learning more about how wizards and witches travel.

"We'll take a Portkey," Minerva said.

"I thought it was very hard to get a Portkey right now," Daniel said.

"It is. The Ministry is very busy processing refugee Portkeys out of the country so they are not bothering with any requests for within the UK," Minerva said. "They've lifted the law against creating your own Portkey for now. People traveling within the UK are now allowed to just create their own."

"What exactly is a Portkey?" Nina asked, still confused.

"It's an object that can transport you great distances in a couple seconds," she replied.

"That's cool," Nina said. "So we don't have to worry about getting a flight. The Scotland idea is getting better and better."

"Nina's scared of planes," Lucy said quietly with a sly smile on her face.

"It's not that I'm scared," Nina said defensively making Daniel and Minerva smile. "I just don't like them. They're just not my favourite way to travel."

"So, we'll also leave on Tuesday then," Daniel said. "If that's when Robert and Malcolm are also coming."

"I will let Mother know so she doesn't come storming down here," Minerva said.

"Why would she come here?" Lucy asked.

"She was in Germany so she doesn't know what happened yet," Daniel told his sister.

"What hap- oh…" Lucy stopped talking and looked down at his feet. Nina gave her a little squeeze and a small smile.

Minerva looked at her daughter and sighed. Lucy was still dealing with everything. It had only been a few weeks after all. Minerva wished there was something she could do or say to take all the pain away but right now she couldn't even comfort her properly. Apparently Nina had taken that job from her.

Just then the phone rang and Lucy looked up again. Daniel looked over at it but didn't move. "That's probably Uncle Raj. Lucy, do you wanna get it?"

Lucy nodded and jumped up quickly. She raced over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" she said. "Hi, Uncle Raj... Yeah, I'm okay."

Minerva smiled a little. She was glad that Raj was doing so much for her children when she and Jay weren't able to. She would definitely thank him properly when she saw him next.

Lucy suddenly put the phone down on the table and looked back at Daniel. "I'm going to take the call in the kitchen."

Daniel nodded and she ran towards the kitchen. Daniel got up and waited for her to call that she got it before hanging up the phone on his side. He looked over at Minerva with a small smile and said, "she's talking about you."

"I know," Minerva said with a small smile.

Inside the kitchen Lucy had the phone back up against her ear. "Okay, I'm alone in the kitchen now."

"What is it you wanted to tell me, Princess?" Raj said with a smile.

"Uncle Raj, today something really weird happened."

"Oh?"

"Someone came to our house."

"It wasn't a reporter was it," Raj said, smile fading immediately and disdain in his voice. He was getting very sick and tired of these reporters exploiting Lucy and Daniel's pain for their stupid newspapers or magazines.

"No," Lucy said quietly. "It was my mum."

"Your mum?" Raj said, sounding very surprised. He took a moment and when he spoke again it sounded like he was trying very hard to sound happy for Lucy but she could hear the contempt in his voice. "Minerva is at your house right now?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "She came a little while after I got home from school. She said that she heard what happened and wanted to make sure we were okay."

She heard what happened? Raj rolled his eyes. She must have heard that there was a huge pile of cash with her name on it.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Raj asked, pushing that thought from his head. He could deal with that later. Lucy and Daniel was his first priority. "How are you feeling? If you need me, I can drive over right now instead of waiting until tomorrow."

"No, it's okay," she said. "I'm okay. Just... weird."

"It is weird," he said.

"I don't forgive her."

Raj didn't say anything.

"Daniel forgave her like right away but I don't forgive her," Lucy said angrily. How could her brother do that? How could he just forgive her without much thought? Lucy couldn't do that. She didn't want to do that. "But I didn't. I don't want to forgive her yet."

"That is understandable," Raj said, a little cautiously. He didn't want to turn Minerva's daughter on her or try to tell Lucy how she should feel but he wanted her to know that how she felt was okay. "It's a hard thing to forgive. You can take all the time you need."

"Uncle Raj?"

"Yes, love?"

"Do you think I should forgive her like Daniel?" Lucy asked. She was still unsure. She didn't want to. She hated that Minerva wasn't there while her dad was sick. She hated that she and Daniel had to deal with it all without her. She hated that she had spent two years all alone without her. At the same time though, Minerva was her mum. Lucy loved her, didn't she? And Minerva loved her, didn't she?

Raj sighed. "I can't tell you that, my love," he said. "That's something you have to decide for yourself. Sometimes it takes longer for some people to forgive than for others. You don't have to feel pressured one way or another. It is all up to you."

"Okay," Lucy said. This wasn't really the answer she was looking for but she got the idea that Raj wasn't going to give her a yes or no answer. "When are you coming tomorrow?"

"I'm going to head out after lunch. I have a meeting with some business people from Glasgow so I will be a little while," he said.

"And then we can go skating?"

"Of course, Princess," Raj said, smile returning. "We can go as soon as I get there. For now, why don't you run along and play. Tell Daniel that I would like to speak with him."

"Okay, Bye, Uncle Raj," Lucy said. "I'll get Daniel."

"Goodbye, sweetheart."

Lucy put the phone down on the counter and raced back to the living room. "Daniel! Uncle Raj wants to speak to you!"

"Okay," Daniel said, getting up.

Lucy raced over and took the television remote from him before sitting back down next to Nina. Nina smiled at her as Lucy pulled some of the throw blanket Nina had been using over herself and started flipping through television channels.

"What did you and Uncle talk about?" Nina asked.

"Stuff," Lucy said with a shrug. "He's coming tomorrow after lunch and then we can all go skating."

"That's nice," Nina said.

Minerva sighed and rested her cheek on her fist. As happy as she was that Daniel and Lucy had both Nina and Raj during such a traumatic time in their lives, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the both of them. She wished that Lucy had run up to sit down next to her or that she was the one taking them all out to get their minds off everything.

Daniel walked into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and greeted his uncle. Raj greeted him back but took very little time to get to the matter at hand.

"Minerva is back."

"She is," Daniel said, nodding even though Raj wasn't here to see. "She got here a little while before dinner. It was... a surprise."

"A surprise, yes," Raj mumbled. "Are you alright, Daniel?"

"I'm okay. It was really Lucy that I was worried about mostly," he said. "She's not doing as well with this."

"She told me that she was okay but that she felt weird."

"Weird is one way to describe it, yes," Daniel said. He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Uncle Raj. It's a strange feeling. Her being back. I keep forgetting that anything had happened at all and expect my dad to walk through the door any minute."

Raj sighed too. "Are you sure that you're okay, Daniel?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"What did she say? What was her excuse?"

"Ah," Daniel mumbled, not knowing what exactly to say. "She had to go away for - for work."

"For work? Teaching?" Raj asked.

"Yeah."

"Daniel..."

"I know that it sounds bad but -"

"Daniel, it sounds bad because it is bad," Raj said. "How many time have I or your father gone away from work? Have either of us ever gone for as long as she has or done so without ever contacting you during our trip?"

"No but -"

"Bud, I understand that you want this to work. I want it to work too but we have to be responsible about it, don't we?" Raj said, interrupting again. "For Lucy."

"Yes, I guess," Daniel said with a sigh. "How do we go about it responsibly?"

"I don't know if her staying with you is a very good idea," Raj said. "I just - I don't know, bud. She's back, yes, but if she leaves again..."

"It will destroy Lucy."

"Yes, so we have to be careful about it."

"She's here now, though. I can't ask her to leave. It's technically her house too," Daniel said. "Both our names are on the deed."

Raj took a deep breath. This is exactly why he had wanted Jay to sign everything over to Daniel. He didn't want them to get mixed up in a legal mess like this.

"Alright, we can all sit down and talk when I come tomorrow," Raj said. "Maybe I can get her to sign the house over to you and then we'll know the real reason she's here."

"I don't think she's just here because of the money," Daniel said with a frown. "I don't think she cares about that stuff."

"That may be what she told you but I don't know, love. The timing is just not great," he replied.

"Yes but for a situation like this when would the timing be great?"

There was a long pause before Raj sighed again. "I don't know, bud."

"All I know right now, Uncle Raj, is that she's back. She says she's back because she wanted to be there for us and that's what I choose to believe," Daniel said.

Of course Daniel, very much like his father, wanted to see the good in other people. Raj tried. He always liked to think he could do it too but he just couldn't get over a woman leaving her four and sixteen year olds for two years without even once giving them a call.

"By the way, we've decided where we're going over Christmas break."

"Oh, where?"

"We're going to Scotland."

"You're going to see Isobel."

"Yes," Daniel said.

Raj didn't say anything for a long time and Daniel was starting to get a little worried. He wanted his uncle to support this idea and agree that it was a good decision because he was still a little unsure.

"I was hoping you three would go somewhere outside the UK," Raj said finally. "Somewhere where you could forget about everything for a little while."

"I know but I think this will be good for us," Daniel said. "I haven't seen my cous- well, I guess they're not really my cousins but... I haven't seen them in a long time and I don't blame them for what their parents did."

Raj thought this over for a minute. Maybe it would be good for Daniel and Lucy to see their cousins.

"Alright, if that's what you've decided. You can talk to Maria to book the flight and everything."

"Min's got it covered. Don't worry."

Of course she did. Raj rolled his eyes again. He and Daniel talked for a little while longer before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. Daniel wished that he could just tell Raj about magic and the war. He would understand better if he just knew. He would suggest such horrible things if he knew the whole situation.

He sighed and shook his head. He walked back towards the living room where he found Lucy and Nina sitting on the floor playing checkers. He walked over and pointed at one of the red checkers.

"You can take two of the black ones with this one."

Nina smiled and moved her piece. "Nice!"

"Hey! You're not allowed to help!" Lucy yelled, glaring up at her brother.

Daniel laughed as he walked back over to the couch. Minerva looked over at him and gave him a little smile.

"I hope that Raj wasn't too hard on me," she said quietly.

Daniel's smile faded and he didn't respond. Minerva's smile faded as well. She wondered what Raj had said about her. She hoped that Daniel didn't believe anything he may have said.

"It's nothing. You don't have to worry about it," Daniel said.

They all sat in the living room for a while. Nina won the checkers game against Lucy but Lucy insisted that it was only because of Daniel's help.

Eventually it was time for Lucy to go to bed. Nina stood up and held her hand out for Lucy to take but Lucy crossed her arms, frowned, and shook her head.

"But it's not even a school night," she whined. "I should be allowed to stay up long!"

She looked over at Daniel for support.

"Sorry, kid," he said, putting his hands up in defeat. "It's out of my hands."

"Besides, you've already stayed up past your regular school night bedtime," Nina tried to reason. "You did get to stay up later."

"I think I'll head to bed too," Minerva said, standing up as well.

"See, everyone's going to bed," Nina said.

Lucy sighed. "Fine."

She stood up and took Nina's hand. Nina smiled and then looked over at Minerva. "I can get you a room ready," she said. She look over at Daniel. "Should I fix up the master bedroom?"

Daniel nodded. "I think some of her clothes are still in there."

Nina nodded and then looked back at Minerva. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," Minerva said though she wasn't exactly sure how she felt staying in her late husband's room. It had been so long since she had even seen that room.

"Alright," Nina said with a smile. "Follow me."

"Good night, Daniel," Lucy said.

Daniel smiled. "Night, Lucy. Night, Min."

Minerva smiled. Daniel hadn't called her 'Min' in so long. "Goodnight, Daniel."

Nina led Lucy and Minerva up the stairs, Lucy still holding her hand. She opened the master bedroom door and motioned for Minerva to enter. "I'm going to put this little one to bed and then I'll bring you some blankets."

Minerva nodded. "Alright, thank you," she said with a smile. "Goodnight, Lucy."

Lucy looked up at her mother. "Night," she whispered before pulling Nina by the hand towards her own bedroom.

Minerva watched Lucy's bedroom door open and close before entering her own room. She looked around the bedroom. It looked the same as it had the day she left. The same pictures hung on the wall. The same houseplants sat on the windowsill. The same clothes hung in the closet. It looked like Daniel hadn't gotten rid of any of his father's clothes yet. Minerva looked at the line of suits hung in the closet and felt the tears sting her eyes. She took a deep breath and closed the closet door quickly. She walked over and sat down on the bed. She sat there and waited for a while. Finally she heard the door to Lucy's bedroom open and close again. Nina walked through the hallway to the hallway closet. She got some blankets and sheets for Minerva and then walked back to the master bedroom.

"Okay, here we go," Nina said. Setting the clear plastic bag that held the new bedspread on the ground and opening it. She moved to the bed and began to pull the blankets and sheets off of it. Minerva stood up and watched her do so. "So, um, I noticed you didn't have any bags so if you need anything just let me know. I think we have some extra toothbrushes and stuff like that laying around."

"Oh, no I actually do have a bag," Minerva said. She pulled out what looked like a miniature suitcase out of her pocket. It looked like something that would come with a doll. Minerva set it down on the ground and pulled out her wand.

Nina watched with wide eyes as she flicked her wand and the suitcase expanded to normal size. "Wow! That's awesome!"

"Thank you," Minerva said with a smile. She moved back over to the bed and helped Nina spread the fitted sheet on the mattress.

"I wish I could do magic," Nina said. "It seems like it could really come in handy."

"It definitely makes things easier," Minerva said. "How long did it take before you found out about it?"

"Not very long," Nina said with a laugh. "Lucy showed me a few weeks after Daniel and I started seeing each other. The first day we spent just the two of us."

"Wow," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "Lucy can't keep a secret to save her life."

"She really can't," Nina laughed, "but in her defence, she had been having a very bad day and seemed to be at the end of her rope. She just didn't have the energy to stop herself from telling the secret."

"Oh," Minerva said. "Well, to be fair, magic may be easy but you Muggles seem to be good at inventing ways of making things more convenient on yourselves as well."

"Muggles?"

"Oh, sorry, that's what we call non-magical people," Minerva explained.

"Oh, well, yeah I guess we have but, I mean, it's not really the same," Nina said with a smile.

"Well, I mean, modern medicine rivals that of potions and spells," Minerva replied. "Lucy was born premature and it was Muggle medicine that saved her life. Magic couldn't do anything to help her."

"Really?" Nina asked as she changed the pillow cases.

"Yes and I'm sure there other things muggles have come up with that I'm unaware of. Wizards seem to think they're better than muggles because they can do magic but both have their own value. We cannot say one is better than the other."

Nina smiled. "I'm glad you think so. Daniel told me that there is a war going on in the wizard world right now."

"Yes," Minerva said with a sigh, sitting back down on the bed.

Suddenly the smile on Nina's face faded away and she stopped what she's doing. She looked at Minerva and said, "I know that you left to protect Daniel and Lucy so, please don't take this the wrong way I just have to ask, are they safe now?"

"We are living in a very dangerous time," Minerva admitted, "but this house is quite safe for now. Before I left, before Lucy was even born, when the war first started I put a lot of enchantments on this house to protect us from intruders and my mother's house in Scotland is also quite safe. I also took extra precaution to make sure I was not followed here."

Nina nodded. Her smile returned and she got back to fixing up the bed. "Okay good," she said. "Sorry, I just had to be sure."

"No, I understand. I appreciate your concern for both Daniel and Lucy's safety," Minerva replied with a small smile. She got up again and walked closer to Nina. "Thank you, Nina, for looking after my children. Both of them."

Nina smiled. "Of course. They're great people. I'm just glad to have gotten the chance to have them in my own life. They take care of me as much as I take care of them."

"You and Daniel are very good together," Minerva said with smile. "I'm glad you two found each other."

"So am I," Nina replied. She put the pillows back on the bed and threw the old covers back on the bag. "Alright, we're all set here. Sleep well, Ms. McGonagall. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Nina," Minerva said as Nina exited the room.


	2. TLT -- 2

_**July 4th 1987**_

 _July fourth had not always been such a horrible day for Minerva McGonagall. No, actually July the fourth was once just another summer day. Hogwarts classes were long over and the summer holidays were in full swing. The day, like any other summer day, brought beautiful Scottish sunsets, songs played by crickets, fireflies dancing through the night, and long walks in the warm summer breeze. Minerva never really gave this date very much thought. Why would she?_

 _Until, that is, the events that occurred just six years prior. Now suddenly the day stuck out in her mind. Minerva always felt its approach. It weighed down on her in a way she could not explain. The coldness of the day pushed the warmth of the summer aside._

 _Six years. It had been six years. She should be over it by now. She should have moved on by now. She should not feel this way every time this day came around. Yet, she did. She hadn't gotten over it. She hadn't moved on. She was stuck and she didn't think that this cold, dark feeling would ever go away._

" _Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer, Minerva? I don't think you should be alone right now," Malcolm McGonagall told his elder sister. He knew this day was always hard on her and he wished she would let him help her but time and time again all Minerva ever did on this cold, lonely day was isolate herself even further. Minerva had been staying with her brother and sister-in-law for a couple days now and, to Malcolm's great displeasure, had decided to leave today of all days._

" _I'm fine," Minerva said, looking back at her brother and giving him a very unconvincing smile. She just couldn't handle talking to anyone right now. She just needed to get away from people for a little while. She loved Malcolm and Daisy and their boys, Lando and Flynn, of course she did but right now all she needed was a nice drink in a small Muggle pub where no one would try to talk to her. "Thank you for having me over, Malcolm. Give my best to Daisy and the children. I'll see you all soon."_

" _Alright..." said Malcolm still a little uncertainly, giving Minerva a hug. "Take care of yourself, Minerva. I'll see you around."_

 _She nodded and said one last goodbye before walking out the door into the warm summer night. A light breeze blew up the sleeves of her coat but it was different from what she remembered. It was colder. Despite the weather, Minerva pulled her coat tighter around herself, trying her best to warm herself a little bit as she walked down the path. It didn't work very well._

 _Minerva finally made it to the edge of Malcolm's property, looked around to make sure no one saw her, and pulled out her wand. She apparated away from Scotland and reappeared in London._

 _Ah, London. Truly a city that could understand how she felt today. The grey moody skies, the rushed of people avoiding each other, the old falling apart buildings trying to hold themselves together among the new skyscrapers._

 _Minerva walked to one of her favourite little London pubs. She walked into the dimly lit and quiet pub towards the bar where she ordered a whisky. She liked this place. It never got too busy and the people who did come here, came to drink alone. Occasionally a young couple would stumble upon this bar and be pulled in by its charm, coming in and making noise, but most nights it was a nice quiet place to get a drink and forget about things for a while. No one here would try to start a conversation with her here. The bartender handed her a glass without a word and she took a sip, letting the amber liquid warm her from the inside a little bit._

 _For a while Minerva drank alone. Letting the day engulf her in its coldness. Letting her thoughts wander to the 'what ifs' and the 'if onlys'. Things she should have said, things they should have done, things she missed with all her life and would do anything to get back. If only they had gotten more time. If only she hadn't waited so long to say yes._

 _Then. Then suddenly she stopped. She heard the door behind her open and for some reason Minerva had a sudden urge to look back. She indulged herself and saw him. A tall man with messy jet black hair and caramel brown skin. She watched him sit down at the bar, a few seats away from her, and order a whisky as well. The bartender handed him a drink and he drank it slowly for a while. Minerva couldn't say why exactly but she just couldn't take her eyes away from him. He finally noticed her staring and met her eyes._

 _Those eyes. Light grey and stormy, reflecting the London sky outside. They were the most amazing eyes that Minerva had ever seen. They drew her to him in a way that she could not explain. It looked as if a storm was brewing behind them and Minerva felt herself wanting to learn more about this man._

 _The man noticed that she did not look away when he caught her staring and gave her a crooked little smile. "Alright?" he asked, voice just above a whisper. Minerva nodded and quickly looked away, apparently having snapped out of her trance. He smiled a little, this all felt very high school. He decided to try and start some conversation. The problem was that he was very out of practice when it came to talking with pretty women. "Looks like it might rain, huh?"_

 _The weather? Really? Stupid. That was so stupid. He shook his head and glared down at his glass._

" _Yes," Minerva said, not looking up from her own glass. This wasn't what she had wanted, she reminded herself. She just wanted to drink alone. She didn't want to talk._

" _What's your name?" he asked, looking the woman up and down. She was very beautiful, though she did not seem to have a very welcoming aura. She had dark black hair tied in a high bun and bright blue eyes. She wore a plain dark green blouse, black trousers, and a long black coat. He wondered what her story was. He wanted to learn more about her._

" _Minerva."_

" _That's a nice name," he said with a smile. "Roman goddess of wisdom, right?"_

" _I suppose."_

" _Are you very smart then?"_ _What the hell is wrong with you?!_ _That was even stupider than starting a conversation with the weather._

 _Minerva looked up from her glass and raised an eyebrow at him. "I would like to think so," she said. Was this supposed to be flirting because if it was, this man was definitely not very good at it. Minerva couldn't decide if she was flattered or annoyed. She supposed that it may be a mixture of both._

" _Of course," he said with a smile, glad that she wasn't scared off by his stupidity. He let himself relax a little and tried to control any other stupidity that might try to come out of his mouth. "I'm Jay. Jay Collins."_

 _Minerva nodded and looked back down at her glass. She felt like she had heard that name before but wasn't sure where exactly. She was sure that she had never met Jay Collins before, she would have definitely remembered those eyes, but she was sure she had heard the name before._

 _There was a long silence before Jay sighed and turned back to his own drink. It seemed he had blown it. She didn't want to talk to him anymore. He probably shouldn't have questioned her intelligence._

 _Minerva sighed. For some reason she did want to talk to him. There were very few people that she would seek out conversation with on a day like today and somehow this Jay Collins man, in the few minutes of knowing him, had become one of them. She wanted to say something and continue the conversation but she didn't know what to say._

" _Ah... what do you do for work, Mr. Collins?" she asked finally, looking back up over at him and giving him a little smile._

" _Please, call me Jay," he said with a smile, taking this invitation for conversation and moving over into the seat beside her. "I run a company."_

" _Oh?"_

" _Yeah, not that exciting," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Not that big a deal. What do you do, Minerva?"_

" _I'm a teacher," Minerva replied. "Secondary school."_

" _What do you teach?"_

" _Um, physics," Minerva said. It wasn't a complete lie. Transfigurations was most like the Muggle discipline of physics. The theory required following mathematical formulas taking into account the body weight of the object to be transfigured, the viciousness, wand power, and concentration. She had heard many Muggleborns in her class complain of the class's likeness to their previous science classes, physics in particular._

" _Wow, physics. So you are smart," Jay said with a smile._

" _You doubted me?" Minerva asked, raising an eyebrow at him._

" _Oh, of course not," he replied with a laugh. Damn, this woman could arch an eyebrow like no other._

" _Are you married, Jay?"_

 _Jay's warm smile faded and he closed his eyes. Shaking his head, he said, "uh, no. I was but she got into a pretty bad car accident years ago now and... didn't make it."_

" _Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up," she said quickly. She of all people shouldn't have asked a stupid question like that. If he had been married, why would he talk to her like this anyway?_

" _That's alright," Jay said with a sigh. "You didn't know."_

" _My husband actually passed away a couple of years ago as well," Minerva said quietly, looking down at her glass of whisky. As soon as the words left her mouth she was astonished with herself. She barely talked about her personal life with people she had known for years yet here she was talking to a complete stranger about it._

" _I believe we've both just figured out why we're both sitting here drinking whisky alone tonight, huh?" he said, giving her an understanding look._

" _I believe so."_

 _More silence. This silence was not awkward and uncertain like the last one, however. They both felt comfortable drinking together silently._

 _Finally Jay broke the silence though. "Do you have children, Minerva?"_

" _No," she said with a shake of her head. "Do you?"_

 _Jay smiled a little. "I have a son," he said, thinking about the little eight year old boy waiting for him back in his hotel room. "His name is Daniel. He's quite the kid. He's eight."_

 _Minerva smiled a little as well. She and Jay talked quietly for a long time. Minerva hadn't realized how late it was until she glanced down at her watch and saw that she had been sitting here with Jay for over four hours now. She decided that it was probably time for her to head home so she stood up and said, "It was very nice to meet you, Jay, but I should really get going now. It's getting quite late."_

" _It was very nice meeting you as well, Minerva," he said, standing up as well. "Let me get your tab for you."_

" _Oh no, that's not nece-"_

" _No, no, I insist," Jay said with a smile, handing his card to the bartender before she could do anything about it._

" _Well, thank you," she said, smiling a little. "That is very generous of you."_

" _So... will I see you again?" Jay asked._

 _Minerva smiled. "Well," she said thoughtfully. She hadn't really had any plans to come back to London after she went back to Hogwarts but now suddenly she wanted to. "I'll be back here next Saturday."_

" _Then I will be as well," Jay said with a smile. "If that's alright with you, of course."_

" _I think I would like that," Minerva said with a small smile. "I look forward to seeing you again, Jay Collins."_

" _You too, Minerva McGonagall."_

 _He watched her walk out of the bar before turning back to the bartender with a very stupid smile on his face. The bartender smiled at him as well._

" _She's never talked to any man that's ever approached her in here," he said. "You're the first one. Good job."_

 _Jay smiled. "Thank you," he said. "She's really something."_

 _Outside, in an alleyway close by, Minerva apparated to the Hogwarts gates and walked up the path towards the castle. She felt a little tipsy and, to her surprise, very happy. She hadn't felt like this in a very long time and hadn't thought that she ever would. Jay Collins was really something and she couldn't wait to see him again next Saturday._

 _She made it back to her office and sat down in her desk. She looked down at the Muggle and Wizard newspapers that littered her desk and started to tidy them up a little bit when something caught her eye. There in one of the Muggle newspapers was a picture of the man she had just met smiling and shaking hands with another, older man._ _Collins Enterprises strikes huge deal with Stark Industries_ _. Jay Collins was the CEO of one of the largest companies in the United Kingdom!_

" _Not a big deal," Minerva mumbled to herself with a smile and a shake of her head before she finished tidying up her desk. She got up, pulled the torch above her desk to open the secret door, and walked into her private rooms to go to bed._

* * *

 _ **Saturday, December 20th 1997**_

"Yeah, I know," Lucy murmured quietly into the phone. She was talking to her friend, Anne Linwood, on the phone in the kitchen. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. "It was weird."

"Yeah, oh my god," Anne replied. "I - I don't know what to say Lucy."

"You don't have to say anything," Lucy said.

"Well, as much as I think it's stupid that she was gone for so long, it is good that she did come back right?" Anne said. "I know that you probably don't want to hear that but coming home is at least a good first step."

"I guess," Lucy muttered. "Daniel forgave her right away. I don't know why he would do that. Why isn't he angry at her like I am?"

"Did she say why she was gone for so long?"

"She just said that she had work to do."

"Oh... that's not a good answer."

"No, it's not," Lucy said darkly. She looked back over her shoulder but the kitchen was still empty. "I just wish he would yell at her and tell her that what she did was horrible! I want him to be on my side. Why is he on hers? He's supposed to be my brother and he was here when she wasn't. She left him too so why isn't he acting like a normal person about this?"

"I don't think there is a normal way to act," Anne replied. "This isn't really a normal thing."

"It's supposed to be team Lucy and Daniel," Lucy muttered. "Why is he not on my team anymore?"

"Lucy, I don't think that's what he's -"

Just then Minerva walked into the kitchen. Lucy looked over at her. "Ah, yeah. That's good, Anne," she said quickly into the phone. "I'll talk to you later."

"Did she just walk into the room?" Anne asked with a laugh.

"Yes," Lucy said as Minerva sat down at the kitchen table. "Bye."

"Bye, Lucy," Anne said, still laughing.

Lucy hung up the phone and looked over at the table where Minerva was sitting. Minerva smiled at her. "Were you talking to your friend from school?"

"Ah, yeah," Lucy mumbled, walking towards the door. "Where's Daniel?"

"I think he and Nina are in the home office," Minerva replied as she unfolds a newspaper. "Something about finalizing their schedules for the next semester."

"Oh," Lucy said. She looked at Minerva for a moment looking like she was about to say something before changing her mind and running towards the office.

As she approached, she could hear Nina and Daniel talking and laughing. She opened the door and saw Daniel sitting at the desk looking at a program booklet for business at the University of Kent. Nina was sitting on top of the desk with her legs crossed with her own nursing book in hand.

"If I take it at twelve, I can be off by - oh, hello, Lucy," Nina said with a smile, looking over at the little girl in the doorway. "What's up?"

"Um... are you two busy?" Lucy asked.

"Not really," Daniel said with a smile, putting down his booklet. "We have all break to do this. What do you need?"

"I - I wanted to talk to you, Daniel," she said, quietly. "About... stuff."

Nina hopped off the desk and smiled at Lucy. "Alright, why don't I go and let you guys talk then."

"Thanks, Nina," Lucy said with a small smile.

"Of course, love," Nina said, tousling her hair as she walks by. She closed the office door behind her.

Lucy walked around the desk and stood beside Daniel's chair. He swirled it around so that he could face her and gave her a little smile. "What's up, kid?"

"Daniel... I - I," Lucy mumbled. She felt really sad all of a sudden and felt the tears fill her eyes. She crossed her arms and glared up at her brother. "I'm mad at you!"

"What? Why?" Daniel said, smile fading away. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"Yes! You're - you're not on my side anymore!" Lucy exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're on _her_ side and you don't care about me anymore!"

"Lucy, what are you saying? Of course I care about you," Daniel said, pulling her closer. "I'm not on anyone else's side. It's team Lucy and Daniel remember? It always has been and it always will be."

"Not anymore," Lucy said as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "You forgave her just like that! How could you do that? How could you not be angry? I'm so angry at her and you don't even care that she left!"

"Lucy, I was angry too," Daniel said. He pulled Lucy into his lap and sighed. "I was so angry with her but I talked to her. She's so sorry. You know, she's hurting just like we are. She had her reasons for leaving but she's back now so it doesn't matter."

"It does matter! She was gone for two years and now I don't need her anymore," Lucy said, crossing her arms. "She should have just stayed away. I don't want her here."

"Yes, you do," he said. "I know you do. She's your mum. Of course you do."

"I don't."

"Lucy..."

"I have you and I have Nina and Uncle Raj and Maria. I don't need her," Lucy said. "I wish I could trade her for... for someone else."

Daniel took a deep breath and turned her around in his lap so she could face him. She looked at him with her tear stained face. He reached up and wiped the tears away. "Listen, kid. I know it still hurts and I know you miss him so much. So do I, but we can't change what happened no matter how much we might want to. We have to keep moving forward, even if every step hurts a little bit, because one day it will stop hurting so much. Maybe it won't go away entirely but it won't feel this bad at least," he said quietly. "We've both lost someone we really love but we can't let that loss push other people that love us away. We have to let the people that love us stay. If she didn't love us she wouldn't have come back but she did so she does. She loves us and wants to help us. We shouldn't push her away because we need her right now. I know you think that you don't but you do. Nina is amazing and I love her but she can't be Minerva. She can only be Nina and you can't expect her to be anything else."

"I don't want her to be anything else," Lucy whispered. "I just... I just want things to be normal again."

"I know. So do I," he said. "We'll get there, Lucy. We will, eventually. But no matter what, it's always going to be team Lucy and Daniel. You can't get me off your team that easily, man!"

She smiled a little. "I like team Lucy and Daniel," she said. "I don't want you to not be on my team."

"I'll always be on your team," he said, tousling her hair a bit.

"I'm always on your team too," she said with a smile.

"Good," he said, putting her down. "Now, why don't you go get a glass of water and calm down. Uncle Raj will be here soon and you don't want him to see that you were crying, do you?"

Lucy shook her head. She wiped her face more to make sure there were no more tears to give her away before running off to get a cup of water.

Minerva was still in the kitchen when she entered. She looked up at Lucy and gave her a little smile but Lucy ignored her, walking to where Nina was standing instead. She asked for a glass of water and Nina gave it to her before leaving to keep planning her courses with Daniel. Again it was just Lucy and Minerva in the kitchen now.

Lucy put her glass down but before she could run away again, Minerva spoke. "Lucy," she said, putting down her newspaper. "Do you mind coming and sitting with me a minute?"

"Ah..." No good excuse came to mind. "Okay."

Lucy walked over to the table and sat down across from Minerva, looking down at her hands. Minerva looked at her with a sigh. "I'm guessing you remember your _nani_ , aunts and uncles, and cousins."

Lucy nodded.

"Lando and Flynn are both graduated now," Minerva said. "Lando runs a bookstore in Edinburgh and Flynn works with dragons."

Lucy looked up suddenly. "Dragons?"

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile. "He's a dragon trainer now. He works on the Irish Dragon Reservation in Northern Ireland."

"That's so cool," Lucy said. "Does he get to ride dragons there?"

"I'm not sure. You can ask him when we see him," she said.

" _Nani_ was in Germany?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, she had some work to go there. She gets in tonight and I'll send her a letter to tell her that we're all coming over. If you want to you could send a letter as well."

Lucy shook her head. She didn't want to write a letter. She would just ask all her questions on Tuesday.

"She'll be very worried when she finds out everything that's happened while she was gone," Minerva said with a sigh. "I'm sure she'd like a letter from you telling her you're okay."

"She didn't need one the last two years," Lucy muttered.

Minerva didn't say anything and Lucy looked down again quickly.

"Sorry," she whispered. She was such an idiot. She hadn't realized that she was talking out loud. "I shouldn't have said that."

"That's alright," Minerva said softly. "I know that you're still angry and you have every right to be, darling, but... don't be angry at them. They were just doing what I asked. _Nani_ wanted to come see you so badly but I asked her not too. I -"

"Why would you do that?" Lucy asked, looking up again and glaring at her mother. Why would Minerva stop Lucy's grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins from coming to see her? Why did she want her, Daniel, and Jay to be lonely? "That's not very nice."

Minerva sighed. "It's complicated, love," she said. "It was just better for them not to keep coming down to Rochester all the time."

"Why would it be better?" Lucy asked angrily. "Why wouldn't it be better for _Nani_ to come visit and see us? We spent Christmas all by ourselves. I didn't get to see anyone on my birthday or Daniel's. Aunty Amelia didn't come over even once all because of you. I don't understand why that was better. Why would it be better for us to be all alone?"

"Sweetheart, that's not -"

"Don't call me that. I don't like it," Lucy said, getting up quickly. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

She ran out of the kitchen. Minerva put her head in her hand and sighed. Why did all of her conversations with Lucy have to end like this? She heard the doorbell ring and voices in the front entrance. Quickly, she straightened up and wiped her cheeks before Daniel, Nina, and Raj walked into the kitchen. Raj Patil was a tall, handsome, muscular Indian man with black hair combed back neatly and brown eyes. He looked older than Minerva remembered. His hair had greyed considerably and he looked more tired. Raj had been Jay's best friend since they were eighteen and met at Oxford. After Jay dropped out to start Collins Enterprises, Raj became his business partner. He held a briefcase in his left hand and his warm smile faded upon seeing Minerva's face.

Minerva stood up and walked around the table. "Hello, Raj."

"Minerva," Raj said in a tone that no one would describe as warm or friendly.

"It's nice to see you again," Minerva said, giving him a small smile and sticking out her hand for Raj to shake.

He shook her hand but did not say it back. Instead he said, "hmm... where's Lucy?"

"I think she's in her bed-"

"Uncle Raj!" Lucy said, running into the kitchen.

Raj turned around and smiled at her. "Hello, sweetheart!" he said, picking her up into his arms and giving her a hug. Apparently Lucy was alright with him calling her sweetheart. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said. "Can we go skating now?"

"Yes, we can," Raj said, putting her down. "I just have some things to discuss with your brother first."

Lucy sighed. "Okay..."

"Why don't we go get ready while they talk," Nina said, giving Lucy a small smile and holding her hand out for her. Lucy nodded and took her hand and Raj thanked Nina.

"Ah," Daniel said awkwardly, looking between his stepmother and his uncle. "We can go talk in the office."

"That is a good idea," Raj said with a small nod. "Please lead the way Daniel."

Daniel nodded and walked from the room. Minerva looked at Raj who motioned her ahead of him. She followed Daniel towards the office and Raj walked behind her. When they made it to the home office Daniel offered his uncle the seat at the desk and, after some insistence on Daniel's part, Raj took it. Minerva and Daniel sat down in front of the desk. Daniel looked away, awkwardly playing with his fingers. Minerva watched Raj carefully. He leaned back in her husband's chair and set his briefcase on the desk.

"I would like to thank you, Raj," Minerva said, finally breaking the silence. "I know that you have done and continue to do a lot for my family and I very much appreciate it. Thank you for looking after them while I was away."

"It's nothing to worry about," Raj said dismissively. "They are my family too."

"Of course," Minerva said.

Raj took a deep breath. "Minerva," he said delicately, "you have been absent for two years now so you must understand that your sudden reappearance could raise some questions in our - my," he wasn't going to bring Daniel in with him like that, "head."

Daniel appreciated his correction. He had defended Minerva during their phone call and he was glad that his uncle had been listening to him. Raj understood that Daniel did not share the same concerns that he did and he respected that.

Minerva thought his words over carefully, a frown appearing on her face though Raj could not be sure if that was from concentration or from her being angered by his words already. Minerva finally gave him a small nod. "That is, I suppose, understandable," she said. "Daniel and Lucy both had questions of their own, I would expect no different of you."

"So, you are will to address my concerns? Even if the ideas I bring up anger you?"

It all felt so formal. She couldn't remember ever having a conversation with Raj like this before she left. He had always been so friendly, a little goofy, and never very serious. Minerva missed that goofiness. She knew that everyone in this house had lost a little bit of their goofiness in the last few weeks but she did hope that eventually it would come back and they would be happy again.

"I believe that our goals are the same, Raj," Minerva said. "We both want to protect Lucy and Daniel so I can appreciate your concern for them."

"Excellent," Raj said though he did not smile. "Two years. Two years without a letter or a phone call. Then you show up here now. You must admit the timing seems a little suspicious."

"Timing?" Minerva asked with a frown. "I do not understand your meaning."

"I just want to be sure that the fact half of Jay's estate now being up for grabs did not affect your decision to return."

Daniel winced at the words and avoiding looking at Minerva even more.

"I - what?" Minerva said, still not completely understanding what he was saying.

"This house now belongs to you. Half of Jay's money, half of Collins Enterprises, all of Jay's land in other countries. Investments, bonds, accounts," Raj said. "All now available for you."

Minerva could not believe what she was hearing. How dare he accuse her of only coming back for Jay's money! She hadn't even given that stuff much thought. All she cared about was Lucy and Daniel.

"I am here for one reason and one reason alone," Minerva said dangerously. "That is my children. I do not care about estates and money. All I care about is Lucy and Daniel."

Raj opened his briefcase and pulled out some papers. "These documents allow Daniel full ownership of the house, Collins Enterprises and any other property under Jay's name. If you sign them my concern will be put to rest."

He held them out to her. Minerva stared at them for a second before taking them from him and reading through them.

"Signing this will give you legal precedent for forcibly removing me from this house on the terms of trespassing," Minerva said, glaring at Raj.

"I will not do that."

"You're asking me to trust you when you don't trust me?"

"I'm asking you to put my fears to bed," he said. "My top priority is protecting Lucy and Daniel from those who may try to take advantage of them. If that is you, so be it."

"I will not sign this," Minerva said, flipping through to the next page and reading it over as well.

"Min, just do it. It won't make a difference," Daniel said. "I'm the owner of the house. I won't kick you out."

Minerva looked at him with wide eyes. "You can't possibly believe what he's saying about me!" she exclaimed. "I have never done anything to indicate that I was only with your father for his money!"

"I didn't say that!" Daniel said. "I would never say that. And Uncle Raj didn't say that either. He just wants to be sure."

Minerva turned back and continued reading the documents. Daniel and Raj watched her carefully. Suddenly her eyes widened again. When she looked up her face looked furious. "You want me to give up custody of my daughter!"

"I -"

"No! How dare you!" Minerva yelled. "The house is one thing but my daughter! I will not give up custody of her!"

"Lucy is young. The money Jay left her will go to her guardian until she is eighteen as well," Raj said. "I just want to avoid -"

"No," Minerva said venomously. She looked over at Daniel. "I would like to talk to Raj alone. Please go get ready to leave as well."

Daniel nodded and scrambled to his feet. He did not need to be told twice to leave this horribly tense and awkward situation. He raced out the door, closing it behind him.

When he was gone, Minerva turned back to Raj. "How dare you," she said angrily. "How dare you imply that I am here for money. How dare you try to take my daughter away from me. I will not be signing any of these documents and I would ask you do not talk down to me in front of my children ever again."

Raj took a deep breath and closed the briefcase in front of him. "Minerva," he said slowly. "I would never try to take Lucy or Daniel away from you. If you sign these documents I give you my word that nothing about the arrangement you and Daniel have made here will change. My worries will simply be put to bed and we can move on."

"Your _word_?" Minerva said. "How do you expect me to trust your word when you are trying to have me sign away custody of my daughter?!"

"I have never once given you any reason to not trust my word," Raj said. "I have always kept my word. Can you say the same?"

"I - I promised Jay that I would return and I am here, aren't I?" Minerva yelled. "How dare you sit in his seat and ask me to give up my children! My last connection to him!"

"I promised Jay that I would look after his children and I have been doing that! Do you know how many reporters I've had to stave off? How many times I had to make sure Daniel and Lucy actually got out of bed in the morning? How many calls I had to make to their schools? How much more responsibility I had to take at Collins Enterprises so that Daniel wouldn't feel pressured into dropping out of school and coming on?" Raj said angrily. "I never once complained or left. I am here to stay. I can't be as sure about you."

"I am here to stay as well," Minerva said, getting up and throwing the documents he had given her on the desk. "I have already told you how much I appreciate what you've done but I'm here now so hopefully it will be a little easier on you. I don't need you to believe me, Raj. I just need my children to trust me again. Daniel does and that should be enough for you."

"Daniel is only eighteen. He is not in any position to make unbiased calls right now."

"Daniel is an adult."

She turned and headed for the door. Raj sighed and shook his head. "You broke their hearts, Minerva. I'm just trying to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Minerva took a deep breath, pushed her tears back, and opened the door. She slammed it behind her and walked towards the stairs. She could hear Daniel, Nina and Lucy talking in the foyer as she approached.

"This coat is too big! It's not that cold. Can't I just wear a sweater?" Lucy said.

"Nope. It is not sweater weather," Nina replied with a laugh. "It's going to get cold on the ice. You have to wear this."

Minerva sighed. That should be a conversation Lucy should be having with her, not Nina. She walked into the foyer and forced herself to smile. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," Daniel said, looking up at her a little uncertainly. "You okay?"

"Of course," Minerva said, moving to the closet and grabbing her coat.

"Where's Uncle Raj?" Lucy asked as Nina zipped up her coat and fixed the hat on her head.

"He should be coming," Minerva said. She did her best to not sound angry but wasn't sure if it really worked. Lucy looked up at her with a frown but before she could say anything Raj came into the foyer.

"Oh good! You're all ready to go," he said with a smile. He walked over to the closet to grab his coat as well. "Excuse me, Minerva."

Minerva moved out the way quickly and stared at him. Raj was very good at putting on a mask when he needed to. A skill, she was sure, came in quite useful in business. Raj put on his coat, grabbed his keys and opened the door. "We'll take my car," he said. "Let's get going."

Lucy raced after him and took his hand as they walked towards the car. Daniel motioned Nina and Minerva out before leaving himself and locking the door behind them.

"Don't be too hard on him," Nina said quietly as they walked towards the car. "He cares about Lucy and Daniel a lot and sometimes says things he doesn't mean because he's trying to protect them."

"I think he meant everything he said," Minerva muttered. "And I think Lucy agrees with him."

"No, she doesn't," Nina said. "She doesn't even know what that means. She doesn't think about money and estates. She's just still upset about you not being there. She'll get over it in a few days when she sees that you're here to stay."

Minerva didn't say anything. They made it to the car and Nina got into the back with Lucy. Minerva was about to follow her when Daniel stopped her.

"You can sit in the front," he said.

"It's alright, Daniel," she said, giving him a small smile.

"No, I insist," he said, moving to get into the back.

Minerva sighed and sat down in the passenger's seat. She looked back at the kids and watched Nina help Lucy put her mittens on. She sighed and turned back to the front. Raj looked over at her with a frown. He looked back and saw what she did. He realized what she was upset over and rolled his eyes. He started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

They made it to park and walked over to the frozen lake. Other people were already there skating around the lake. Nina helped Lucy put on her skates and Raj took her hand to help her over to the lake.

"I'm not very good," Lucy said as her uncle caught her before she fell.

"It just takes practice, love," Raj said with a smile. "I'll skate with you and then when you're ready you can let go of my hand and try on your own."

Lucy nodded a little uncertainly and skated shakily beside him. Minerva got on the ice and moved around a bit.

"It seems it's a little like riding a bike," she said. "You don't forget."

"Skating's not too hard," Daniel said. He looked over at Lucy. "I think it's more about confidence than anything else."

"Yes, if she wasn't so scared of falling she would be an okay skater," Minerva said.

"You making fun of her when she falls probably doesn't help ease her fear," Nina pointed out.

"I don't make fun of her," he said. Nina gave him a look and he laughed. "I don't."

"I'm more inclined to believe Nina, I'm afraid," Minerva said.

"You too are annoying," he said with a shake of his head. He sped up to leave them behind. Nina laughed and followed after him.

Minerva smiled and shook her head as well. She skated around for a bit before running into Lucy and Raj again. "How's it going?"

"I can skate by myself now!" Lucy said excitedly. "Watch! Watch!"

She skated forward, still a little shakily but no longer holding Raj's hand. Minerva smiled. "That's wonderful, love."

"I'm going to find Daniel and Nina," she said as she kept going away from Minerva and Raj.

Raj kept skating behind her and Minerva debated going the other way when a group of skaters forced her to go the way of traffic.

"You're a good skater," Raj said, looking her over quickly. "Lucy said that you didn't know how to skate."

"I guess she doesn't remember us going skating when she was younger," Minerva said quietly.

Raj didn't respond. They kept skating in silence for a while before Lucy stopped in front of them and looked back. She waited for Raj to come over and motioned him down. Raj leaned down so she could whisper into his ear.

"I have to go to pee," she whispered.

"Oh," Raj said, straightening up. He looked around a little awkwardly. "Um, well, we should find Nina."

"What's wrong?" Minerva asked with a frown.

"Ah... Lucy has to use the restroom," Raj said.

"Oh," she said, frown turning into a smile. She thought it was kind of funny how awkward Raj was acting. "Well, I can take you. Come on, Lucy."

Lucy looked around quickly but didn't see Nina anywhere. She sighed and took Minerva's hand, skating with her back to their shoes. Minerva helped her change out of her skates and took her towards the bathrooms. She waited outside while Lucy used it.

"Alright, I have to use it as well," Minerva said when Lucy came out. "Can you please wait here for me?"

Lucy nodded.

"Don't run off. I don't want you to get lost."

Lucy nodded again and Minerva went into the washroom. Lucy leaned against the wall as she waited, very patiently, and looked around the small lodge. There was a kiosk selling hot chocolate. Maybe Minerva would let her buy some.

"Hello!"

Lucy looked up to see a young man with messy blonde hair looking down at her. He had a small black notebook in his hand and a pen behind his ear.

"Hi..." Lucy said uncertainly.

"Jordan Weller," he said, sticking his hand out for her to shake. "You're Lucy Collins, right?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," Lucy said, not moving to shake his hand. Her hands were still behind her back as she leaned against the wall.

"I'm not a stranger," he said with a laugh, dropping his hand. "I know who you are, don't I?"

Lucy stared at him, not really sure what to do. She had always been told not to talk to strangers but she had never really been told how to get out of talking to a stranger when her parents weren't around. She couldn't just run away, Minerva would be angry with her. She had asked Lucy to stay put and had literally used the words _don't run off_. Lucy didn't know what to do. She hoped that Minerva came back out of the bathroom soon.

"I'm a reporter for _Scope Magazine_."

"I'm not supposed to talk to reporters either," she said. Uncle Raj had told her not too. He said that they had no right to talk to her and that she didn't have to answer their questions. He had told her to tell him if a reporter tried to talk to her.

"Why not?"

"Because you write mean things about my dad," Lucy said quietly.

"I'm not going to write a mean article," Jordan said. "I'm a nice reporter. I just want to ask you a couple questions about your father and how you're doing now."

Lucy shook her head, tears filling her eyes. She didn't want to talk about her father or how she was doing now. She wanted this man to leave her alone. She wished Raj was here. He would know what to do.

"It won't take very long," Jordan insisted, only making Lucy more upset and frustrated. She couldn't see a way out of this. "I'll be very quick and you won't have to answer any question you don't want to answer. Are you and your brother back at school?"

"I don't want to talk to you," Lucy said quickly, shaking her head violently. "I just want to go skating."

"You're already going out and doing fun things, this soon after the funeral?" Jordan asked.

"I - no - I don't know," Lucy said. Was that bad? Should she not be having fun? Was she being disrespectful to her father? The tears rolled down her cheeks and she shook her head. "Please leave me alone."

"Don't cry! I just wanted to ask you a couple questions," he said quickly.

Just then the washroom door opened again and Minerva came out. She saw this man talking to Lucy, saw the tears falling down her cheeks and frowned. "What are you doing?" she asked the man angrily, stepping between him and her daughter.

Jordan looked up and said, "hi, I was just talking to Miss Collins here. It's nothing for you to worry about, Ma'am."

"Well, considering she's my daughter and you're making her upset, it is something that I need to worry about," Minerva said. "Now, please leave before I call security."

"You're Mr. Collins's wife?" Jordan said, straightening up and giving her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Well, I would love to talk to you as well, Ma'am. I would love to know more about you and your husband's relationship towards the -"

"Leave. Now."

Minerva's voice sounded dangerous and menacing. Jordan stopped what he was doing. He looked like he was about to say something before deciding against it and turning on his heel. He walked away briskly and Minerva sighed. She crouched down in front of Lucy as Lucy wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

"I told him that I wasn't allowed to talk to strangers," she whispered, "but he wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. It's not your fault, sweetheart," Minerva said. She said it without thinking and waited for Lucy to apprehend her for calling her that but she never did. Minerva took this as a good sign and took Lucy's hands in hers. "Are you okay?"

Lucy nodded. "They keep trying to talk to me and Daniel," she said. "Uncle Raj makes them go away. I'm glad he listened to you too."

Minerva smiled a little. "They should listen to you too," she said. "You shouldn't have to talk to them if you don't want to."

Lucy nodded again.

"Alright, why don't we get going," Minerva said. "You want to keep skating, don't you?"

"Yeah," Lucy said with a nod. She pointing at the kiosk selling hot chocolate. "Can - can we get hot chocolate first?"

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile.

She straightened up and Lucy took her hand as they walked towards the kiosk. They bought hot chocolate for themselves and Daniel, Raj and Nina as well before heading back to the ice. Minerva helped Lucy get her skates back on and handed out the hot chocolates when they found everybody. Lucy told Raj what happened while she was waiting for Minerva and he frowned. He looked around quickly.

"Do you see him?" he asked. "Is he still here?"

Lucy looked around before shaking her head.

Raj sighed and looked at Minerva. "Did you get the name of the guy?" he asked. "Or the magazine he works for?"

"No," Minerva said. "He didn't say."

"He told me," Lucy said. "He said his name was Jordan Weller and that he worked for _Scope Magazine_."

"Of course it's _Scope_ ," Daniel said with a frown. "They're always writing stupid tabloid-y articles about us."

"I'll call them and lodge a complaint when we get home," Raj said. He put his hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Don't worry, Princess. He won't bother you again."

Lucy nodded, hugging Raj's legs.

They skated for a little while longer before finally deciding to head home. Nina went to the kitchen to start on dinner and Lucy went to help her. Daniel had some work to get done in his bedroom and Raj went into the living room. Minerva sat down in the kitchen, talking to Nina and Lucy as they worked before being given a job herself. She was to grab any dishes that may be hiding out in the living room. Minerva walked over to take a look when she heard Raj's angry voice. She stopped and listened to his half of the phone conversation.

"Your reporter was completely out of line," he said angrily. "Cornering her when she was alone. She's a six year old girl!" There was a pause and Minerva looked through the archway to see Raj pacing around angrily. The cord of the phone prevented him from walking too far. "And I understand that... I understand how magazines work, Mr. Kelp, but what your reporter did not only violated journalistic codes but codes of average human decency. They are both still grieving. Lucy and Minerva do not need to be questioned about Jay or Collins Enterprises right now."

Minerva was surprised that Raj was defending her. She thought he would focus on the reporter's disrespect of Lucy.

"To talk to Lucy, Mr. Weller would have needed permission from her parent. Permission Minerva did not and will not ever give," he said. "Especially with the way he talked to Minerva and the questions he wanted to ask her. I don't want to see anyone of your reporters near either of them or Daniel again. Find your stories elsewhere."

With that Raj slammed the phone down into the holster and flopped down in the couch with a sigh. Minerva entered the room. "Does that happen often?"

"Not too often anymore," he said, massaging his temples with his fingers, "but still happens sometimes. A journalist will recognize them and become a little too eager for a story. They used to hang around just behind the gate so they could try to talk to them when they left the house."

"That's horrible," Minerva said.

Raj nodded. He stood up and walked towards the door. "If something like that happens again, let me know," he said. "I will handle it."

He walked passed her and Minerva turned to watch him go. She was still angry with him for trying to get her to sign away custody of Lucy but she had to admit that he took good care of the children.

"Thank you, Raj," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a small shrug as he left the room. "Anything for Lucy and Daniel."


	3. TLT -- 3

_**Sunday, December 21st 1997**_

"You're running low on food," Raj said, grabbing a carton of milk from the all but bare refrigerator and closing the door. He walked back to the kitchen table, sat down and picked up Lucy's glass to pour milk into it before handing it back to her and setting the carton down. She thanked him quickly before taking a big gulp. "Did Maria not send over groceries for the next two weeks?"

"I told her not too," Daniel said. "We're leaving on Tuesday, so I thought we could just order food so that things don't go bad while we're gone."

Raj nodded. "I see."

"We still need milk though," Nina said, picking up the carton and giving it a little shake. "This is almost empty and it's the last one."

"We're leaving in a few days, do we really need it?" Daniel said.

"Yes," Nina said with a frown. "How am I supposed to have my _chai_ without milk?"

"You could drink it without milk," he suggested. She made a face and he laughed. He looked over at Minerva. "Do you take milk in your tea?"

"I do," Minerva said with a smile.

"That's now two people. And how is Lucy supposed to eat her morning cereal without milk?" Nina continued. "That's three people. We need milk."

"Fine, I'll go out into the cold and get milk," he said with a sigh.

"I can go get some before I leave for London," Raj said.

"No, that's alright," Daniel said. "I don't want you to waste your time leaving and coming back."

"Do you have to leave today, Uncle Raj?" Lucy said. "Why can't you stay one more night?"

"I think it'll be easier for me to go tonight, Princess," he said, tousling her hair a little bit. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, though she sighed. "You're coming back tomorrow, right?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I have a late phone meeting with people in China. The time difference makes meetings hard."

"Wow, a meeting with Chinese businessmen," Nina said.

"Yes," Raj said with a small smile. "I doubt it will be very exciting though. My meeting will go late and then you all leave on Tuesday so I won't come back until you all do. I'll see you as soon as you return though."

"Promise?" Lucy asked.

Raj smiled and nodded. "I promise."

"Okay," Lucy said. She looked over at Daniel. "I need stuff from the store too."

"Oh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "What do you need?"

"I need chocolate!" she said with a little smile. "Or you could just get chocolate milk! Or just one of those little chocolate Santas. I like those too."

Nina and Raj laughed but Daniel rolled his eyes. "Lucy, don't we have chocolate?"

"No, you ate it all remember," Lucy said.

"I did not."

"You did, I saw you. I saw the wrappers on the table in the living room after you watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," she said matter-of-factly.

"I remember. You were snacking on candy all through the movie," Nina said with a laugh.

"Chocolate helps the emersion of that movie," Daniel said defensively. "How can you watch Willy Wonka and the _Chocolate_ Factory and not have chocolate with you when you do it."

Minerva smiled. She watched Lucy stick her tongue out at her brother, who just stuck his tongue out back at her. Her children were a lot older but they were still children.

"I think that if you eat all the chocolate, you should have to replace it," Lucy said, picking up her empty plate and walking towards the sink to put it down.

"Thank you, Lucy," Nina said with a smile.

"Well," Raj said, getting up and picking up his plate too. "Thank you for dinner, Nina. It was wonderful. I should really get going now."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay a little longer?" Nina said as he walked over to put his plate away and picked Lucy up, tickling her a little.

"No, I do have some work I would like to get done at home," he said.

Daniel, Nina, and Minerva got up as well and walked Raj to the door. Daniel brought his briefcase down for him and he put on his coat. He said his goodbyes and kissed Lucy on the forehead before heading out. When he was gone, Daniel began getting on his coat as well so he could go get milk.

"You coming?" he asked, looking up at Nina.

"I'll come if it makes you stop whining," Nina said with a smile.

"Great," he said smiling now.

She grabbed her coat as well and started putting it on as well. "While we're out we could get ingredients for cookies too," she said. "Instead of chocolate. What do you think, Lucy? Do you wanna make Christmas cookies?"

"Sure!" Lucy said.

"Then tonight we can eat cookies and watch Die Hard!" Daniel said.

Nina frowned. "I wanted to watch a real Christmas movie."

"Die Hard is a Christmas movie," Lucy said.

"See!" Daniel said very childishly. "It's the best Christmas movie, right Lucy?"

"Right," she said with a smile.

"Lucy, you don't have to agree with everything this idiot says," Nina said with a roll of her eyes.

"I think she does. I think those are the rules," Minerva said with a smile.

"Yes. They are," Daniel said.

"No, I just like Die Hard," Lucy said.

"I still can't believe he let you watch Die Hard," Nina said with a shake of her head. "You are not old enough to watch Die Hard."

"What is this movie rated?" Minerva asked.

"R," Nina muttered.

"It's a Christmas movie," Lucy said with a smile. "It's okay. It's tradition."

"Yes, we always watch Die Hard," Daniel said.

"How old were you when this tradition started?" Minerva asked.

"Well, Lucy didn't see it till last year but I was nine when the movie came out and I've watched it every Christmas since then," Daniel replied.

"Oh! I remember this movie now," Minerva said. "It's the policeman movie, right? With the terrorists?"

"Yes!" Daniel said.

"You let her watch it when she was five!" Minerva exclaimed, giving Daniel a shocked look.

"That's what I'm saying," Nina said.

"Hey, Lucy might have been five technically but according to the school she had the mental age of a ten year old which is a year older than I was when I watched it so it's okay," Daniel said with a smile, looking over at Lucy. "You weren't traumatized by it, were you kid?"

"No," she said. "I like Die Hard."

"Me too. It's my favourite Christmas movie," Daniel said.

"Mine too," she replied with a smile.

Minerva rolled her eyes remembering the movie. She had watched it with Jay. It had been his favourite Christmas movie too. He and Daniel had watched it every Christmas, though she did not always attend these screenings. She remembered the swearing, the guns, the explosions. She could not believe that Daniel had let his five year old sister watch this movie.

Eventually Daniel and Nina got their shoes on and headed out. Minerva made herself a cup of tea and walked into the living room where Lucy was sitting now. It was the first time she had been left alone with her mother. It felt strange still. She knew what Daniel had said about not pushing people away but she still felt awkward and weird around her mother. Lucy sat in the living room with her textbooks out. She decided that the best way to avoid conversation was to make it look like she was busy. She pulled out her homework and pretended to do it while watching TV.

"I don't know how much you'll get done with that thing on," Minerva said softly.

Lucy looked up at her and then back down at her book. "I can manage."

"Right," Minerva mumbled. She looked Lucy over. She knew that Lucy wasn't actually doing her homework. She was a teacher after all. She had encountered her fair share of students trying to pretend they were doing something when they were actually goofing off. "So, how is school going?"

"Fine."

Minerva sighed. She wanted Lucy to talk to her but she didn't really know how to get her to do so. She knew that Lucy didn't like her very much right now and she understood why but at the same time it still hurt. She decided to try again. "I work in a magic school so all the kids can do magic," she said. "A couple of years ago four students came to Hogwarts and they were the biggest troublemakers I had ever had to deal with."

Lucy looked up from her book. "What did they do?"

Minerva smiled. "So many things," she said. "One time they cast a spell on the whole castle to make everyone, students and teachers, have reindeer antlers and red noses. This was around Christmas."

Lucy smiled and put down her book. "Really?" she said, sitting up a bit and moving a little closer to her mother. "What else did they do?"

"Another time, they turned an entire corridor into a corn maze so students were getting lost trying to get to their classes," Minerva replied. "They were always out of bed at night. They didn't seem to care about any school rule. They wouldn't let a class go by without doing something, whether that be releasing a horde of pixies or setting off a bunch of fireworks or just interrupting the lecture. They were very... wild."

"Wow," Lucy said. "What were their names?"

Minerva thought about if she should tell her or not. She decided that she might as well, they weren't in school anymore anyways. "Their names were James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew," she said. "You've met them but I don't know if you remember. They were probably the most troublesome boys I've ever taught."

Lucy vaguely remembered their names. She recalled her parents talking about them but didn't really remember what they looked like. "Are they still in school?"

"No, they graduated last year," Minerva replied with a smile. "I still see them far too often though."

"Why?"

"Well, they do some work with me now so I have too," Minerva replied.

"Oh," Lucy said, looking away.

 _Work that you chose over me._ Lucy didn't have to say the words for Minerva to hear them in her mind. She sighed. She wished she knew what she could say or do to make the pain of her leaving go away but she knew that there wasn't. Only time could heal this wound. She just had to get through however many days, months, or even years it might take for Lucy to fully trust her again. She wished she could skip ahead to when things were okay, back to normal again, but she couldn't. These were the consequences to the choices that Minerva had made. She couldn't blame anyone else for them. Whether she made them for the right reasons or not, the consequences of them were there for her to deal with.

Lucy threw her book down on the table and sat up properly. She looked out the window at the snow falling outside. She got up to get a closer look. "I don't want to do my homework right now," she said, resting her arms on the window sill and leaning her chin on top of them. She watched the snowflakes fall slowly outside and sighed. "I'm so bored."

"It's only been a couple minutes," Minerva said with a smile. Lucy shrugged. "Well, I can tell you more about Hogwarts if you like."

Lucy looked back at her. "I know about Hogwarts," she said. "I know that you also teach classes like Herbology and Astronomy and Potions and Charms. I don't really know what the difference between Charms and Transfigurations is though."

"Well, transfiguring something changes the object itself while a charm changes what that object does," she explained. "Charms adds something new to the object whereas a transfiguring spell changes the object into something completely new."

"That sounds cool," Lucy said. "I wish we would learn stuff like that in school. We just learn like math and stuff. The teachers go so slow! Class gets so boring. I get that other students may need more help but I don't think we need to spend like a whole week on one topic."

Minerva smiled. "Well, not everyone else has a photographic memory," she said. "You learn a lot faster than most students."

"I have to reteach Anne most of the stuff we learn in maths," Lucy said with a smile, walking back to the couch and sitting down. "She's not very good at math."

"I'm not very good at math either," Minerva said with a laugh.

"I'm pretty good," Lucy said proudly. "I'm pretty good at school, really. Other kids don't like that. They think that because I'm small I should be with the other little kids learning the alphabet or something but I took a test and it said that I belonged in this year not that one. Nina says they're just jealous but I think that maybe they're just stupid."

Minerva laughed. "Well, I think you did prove that you belong in seventh year," she said. "It doesn't really matter what the other kids think."

"Yeah..." Lucy mumbled. "I just wish... I don't know. Nevermind."

Minerva frowned. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," Lucy said quickly. "But yeah, my favourite subject is probably science or history. I like both. I wish they offered magic classes at my school. I've read a lot about Charms and Potions and Transfiguration in the magic books in the library. Charms is super easy but Transfigurations is harder. I can't try making potions though because I don't have any of the weird ingredients you need to make them."

"Transfigurations is a lot more complex than Charms. It takes a little more time to get right," Minerva said, allowing the subject change. "If you ever want help with something, I am always willing to help. I can also get you some of the more up to date textbooks that we use at Hogwarts now if you'd like."

"Really?"

"Sure," Minerva said with a smile.

"That'd be awesome," Lucy said. "Astronomy sounds really cool. I wish they offered that at my school. We're doing some space stuff later this year but I doubt we'll go into a lot of detail."

"Daniel really liked space as well, if I remember correctly," Minerva said.

"Yeah, he said he used to want to be an astronaut but then never went into it. Apparently it's really hard to become an astronaut but I bet Daniel could do it. He's awesome. He could do anything," Lucy said with a smile.

Minerva smiled too. "Yes," she said, "he probably could do anything."

"He's doing business right now, like Dad." Suddenly Lucy's smile faded away. She looked down at her hands. "He was supposed to go to America to study. He wanted to go to Harvard but he didn't because of me."

"It's not your fault," Minerva said softly. She reached out and took Lucy's hand. "Besides, if he had gone to Harvard he would never have met Nina. Then you wouldn't have met her either and that's no good, is it?"

Lucy looked back up and smiled a little. "Yeah, that's true. Nina's pretty awesome too," she said. "She used to live alone on the university campus before she basically moved here. Her flat was pretty small but she said it had character."

Minerva laughed. "Well, you have to start somewhere."

"Yeah, I guess. Now she stays here all the time but they still haven't said official that she's 'moved in'," Lucy let go of Minerva's hand and put air quotes around _moved in_. "Apparently it's a big deal but she already stays here like every night."

"I think that officially moving in would be getting rid of her other flat, right," Minerva said.

"Maybe. I don't know," Lucy said, she said with a shrug. "Do you like teaching?"

"I do," she replied. "I like passing on what I know to the next generation."

"How long have you been teaching?"

"Twenty seven years now."

"Wow, that's older than Daniel!"

"Yes, it is," Minerva said with a smile. "I've been teaching for a very long time."

"Have you ever done anything else?"

"I used to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I worked there for two years before deciding that I didn't really like it and deciding to apply for a teaching position at Hogwarts."

"Wow," Lucy said. "Why didn't you like it?"

Minerva shrugged. "Eh, it wasn't a bad job. It just wasn't for me. I wasn't very happy there and the people weren't that nice, to be honest."

"They were mean?"

"Some of them were... a little, erm, high and mighty. They thought they were better than everyone else," Minerva replied with a smile. "But it's okay. Hogwarts is a lot better. Everyone at Hogwarts is very professional."

"What's your favourite subject?"

"At Hogwarts?" Minerva said. "Transfigurations, of course."

"No," Lucy said with a laugh. "I know that! I mean of the others."

"Hmm, I think potions," she said. "Though I would ask you not to tell Professor Slughorn that. He teaches portions at Hogwarts and if he found out that I said that he would never let it go."

Lucy laughed. "He really likes potions?"

"He does," Minerva said with a smile. "He also likes being right. He thinks that potions is the best subject, which it's not. Transfigurations is, of course. If he found out that I said that he would take that as evidence that he was right."

Lucy smiled. "Well, I don't know how to make potions so I can't say if one is better than the other," she said.

"Well, I can tell you Transfigurations is better," Minerva said making Lucy laugh again. Minerva smiled. "Though, there is some overlap between Transfigurations and Potions. Some procedures in Transfigurations require a knowledge in Potions."

"Like what?" Lucy asked.

"Hmm... like becoming an Animagus," Minerva said. "Do you know what that is?"

Lucy nodded. "That's when you can transform into an animal," she said. She pointed at her mother. "You can turn into a cat. I remember."

"That's right," Minerva said with a smile.

"Can you do it now?" Lucy asked excitedly. "Uncle Raj isn't here anymore so we can do magic again!"

Minerva nodded. She put down her now empty teacup and transformed into a cat. Lucy got up quickly and raced over to the armchair Minerva was sitting on.

"Wow!" she said, picking Minerva up and sitting down on the armchair. Minerva meowed in protest but Lucy ignored her. She hugged her tightly and petted her head. "I always wanted a cat but no one else did. Daniel said they're messy and they leave fur everywhere."

Minerva struggled and got out of Lucy's grip. She hopped off of her lap and turned back into a human. She gave Lucy a look as she fixed her bun. Lucy laughed.

"Do you like being petted?" Lucy asked as Minerva walked to sit down on the couch.

Minerva laughed. "Not really," she said, "but if it makes you feel better then I don't mind."

"I think," Lucy said matter-of-factly, "that you're lying and that you actually secretly like it."

Minerva gave her a look and Lucy laughed. Minerva would never admit it but she did kind of like being pet while in cat form. Only by specific people though. Lucy was okay and Daniel and Nina were probably safe but anyone else most likely would have gotten a scratch for trying to touch her.

Lucy pulled her knees up and looked over at her mother a little uncertainly. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Minerva said.

Lucy paused for a moment, debating if this was a good idea. She knew what question she wanted to ask next but she wasn't sure if she should. What if she didn't get the answer she wanted? What answer _did_ she want? Lucy wasn't sure. She took a deep breath before deciding to just do it.

"Is this like a permanent thing?" asked Lucy. "Are you really going to stay with us forever now?"

Minerva gave her a smile. "Yes. I'm here to stay, I promise."

Lucy nodded. She wasn't sure if that's what she wanted but for some reason she did feel a little better. She slid of the chair and sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table. She pulled the textbook she had thrown on there earlier close to her and opened it up again. "I have to do my homework now," she said. "Daniel said I have to finish it before we go to Scotland."

"That's a good idea," Minerva said. She watched Lucy pull out her worksheet and start writing the answers to her questions onto it for a second before getting up, picking up her teacup and leaving for the kitchen to get herself another cup of tea.

* * *

 _ **Monday, December 22nd 1997**_

"Here comes the sun, do do do do

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right," Lucy sang quietly as she watched the clean laundry fly out of the basket Nina had brought to her room and hang themselves in her closet.

"Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right."

Minerva heard the singing and smiled. She walked towards Lucy's bedroom. She saw the clothes flying past. "Doing your chores with magic?" Lucy was sitting on her bed. She looked up at her mother and nodded a little. Minerva smiled. "Wow, I was never able to do this kind of magic when I was your age. Most children's magic isn't that strong yet."

"I - I've been practicing," she said quietly.

"That's good," Minerva said with a smile. "May I come in?"

Lucy thought for a moment before nodding. Minerva walked into the room and sat down on the bed beside her. Lucy was looking down at her feet, not making eye contact with Minerva.

"What were you singing earlier?"

"Here Comes the Sun."

"I used to sing that to you when you were little," Minerva said. "I don't know if you remember that."

"I remember," Lucy mumbled, still not looking up.

"You have a nice voice."

"Thank you," she mumbled, playing with her fingers nervously.

Minerva sighed. She had thought that yesterday they had made a lot of progress. Nina and Daniel had come back a little while after Lucy had finished her homework and they had all gone into the kitchen to make cookies. As soon as Nina had returned Lucy had forgotten all about Minerva. She stood on the stool in the kitchen and helped Nina measure out ingredients while Minerva and Daniel sat at the kitchen counter. While they were watching the movie, Lucy had snuggled up close to Nina and afterwards it had been Nina who had put the girl to bed again. It seemed that there was no more job left for Minerva to do.

"So, are you ready to go to Castletown?" Minerva asked. "We're leaving tomorrow. Your _nani_ , aunt, uncles and cousins are very excited to see you again."

Lucy nodded again, standing up. The clothes had finished hanging and folding themselves and now all that was left was the empty laundry basket. Lucy kicked the basket out into the hallway before pointing to her bag in the corner. "I'm already packed."

"That's good," Minerva said with a smile. "Are you excited to see everyone again?"

"I don't know," Lucy whispered, still not looking at Minerva. She shrugged and looked down at her bag.

"It's okay to be a little nervous."

Lucy looked up quickly and shook her head. She crossed her arms and said, "I'm not nervous."

"Not at all?" Minerva asked with a smile. "You don't feel even a little bit nervous?"

Lucy let her arms fall to her side and sighed. "Okay... maybe a little bit. Like the teeny, tiniest amount."

Minerva smiled. "It's okay to be nervous."

Lucy walked back to the bed but didn't sit back down. She picked up the small box that was sitting there and moved to put it away.

"What's that?" Minerva asked.

Lucy looked at it and shrugged. "My box of important things."

"Important things?" Minerva asked. "Like what?"

Lucy took a deep breath before walking back towards the bed again. "Do you want to see inside?"

"I would love to," Minerva said. "But only if you're comfortable with showing me."

Lucy nodded and hopped up on the bed. She sat down cross legged in front of Minerva and set the box down between them. Minerva copied her. Lucy slowly opened the box and looked inside. She pulled out an envelope and opened it up. Inside were a stack of postcards. She held them out for Minerva to see.

"Dad brought me a postcard from every new place he visited when he went away for work," she said softly as Minerva flipped through the postcards. She saw pictures of cities in America, France, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, China, Singapore, and many other countries.

"I remember that," Minerva said with a smile. "I'm glad you kept them all."

"I'm going to visit all these places when I'm older," Lucy said.

"That's nice," Minerva said, giving her the postcards back. Lucy put them away and then pulled out some photographs.

"That's my friend Anne," she said, handing Minerva a picture of herself and a blonde girl with blue eyes standing together in what looked like their back garden. "She's my best friend."

"She must be very nice then," Minerva said.

Lucy nodded. "She's the only one at school who actually talks to me like I'm not a baby," she mumbled. "Everyone else is mean."

"Mean?"

"Nevermind," Lucy said, taking the picture back. She handed Minerva another one. "That's my _Dado_ with Captain America! He was a soldier and he and his friends got captured by Nazis and Captain America saved him!"

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile, looking down at the black and white photograph. Jay's father looked so much like him.

"Daniel said that we owe Captain America our lives because if he hadn't saved _Dado_ we would never have been born!" Lucy said. "Isn't it so cool that he met Captain America?"

"Very cool," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy took the picture back and handed her mother another. "That's me at my first dance recital," she said. "You're there too."

"Yes, I remember that night," she said. She looked at the happy faces of Lucy, Jay and herself. Daniel wasn't in the photograph because he was the one taking the picture. His little thumb over part of the lense was proof of that. "I was so proud of you. Do you still dance?"

Lucy nodded. "I got moved up in dance too," she said. "My teacher, Ms. Jade, says that I'm one of her best students."

"That's wonderful," Minerva said. "I can't wait to see your next recital. I've really missed seeing you dance."

Lucy showed Minerva a couple more photographs and then pulled out a smaller light pink box. She opened it and inside was a large bundle of letters. "These are letter that my _Dadi_ and _Dado_ wrote back and forth when he was fighting in the war," she said. She held them delicately, not wanting to damage them in any way. She untied the blue ribbon around them and showed her mother. "They really loved each other. They got married because they loved each other, not because their parents wanted them to. That's called an arranged marriage. Daniel said that's really rare for India, especially at the time."

"Wow," Minerva said, taking the letters from Lucy. She looked at the soft, delicate writing that must have been Marie Collins's and the bulky, all uppercase writing that must have been Jamal Collins's. She had never seen these letters before. Jay had never shown her. "Have you read them all?"

Lucy nodded. She reached over and picked two out from the bundle. "These two are funny," she said. "They're trying to decide Daddy's name."

Minerva smiled and took the letters from her. She opened one of them and read through it. Marie told her husband all about her day, life in England. She talked about her neighbours and how helpful they were with her pregnancy. Apparently she hadn't had to make dinner for herself in a very long time. Her writing was very stream of consciousness. She wrote about whatever came to mind. Finally she got to the baby's name. It took her six different names to land on Jay. She went through each name thoughtfully and very logically. Each name had its own pros and cons. Jamal's letter was almost the opposite of his wife's. His was abrupt, to the point and definitely not as flowery. It was still gentle though. Still just as loving. His thoughts were concise and he commented on everything his wife brought up. Every point she made, he acknowledged. The letters were very complementary to one another. He agreed that Jay was a great name and kept calling the baby that throughout the rest of the letter.

" _Dado_ wasn't there when Daddy was born," Lucy said quietly. "He died but _Dadi_ didn't know." She pointed to the last few letters in the bundle. "She kept writing to him even though she didn't get anything back. She told him about Daddy and how he was doing. Then she stopped when she found out that he was dead. They gave her back her letters when they told her and the last one from him isn't finished because he never got a chance to finish writing it."

"Wow," Minerva whispered. She put the letters back in the envelopes and the envelopes back in the bundle. She wiped the tears that had crept down her cheeks away quickly before handing the letters back. "I would love to read those all, if you'd let me."

Lucy put them back in the box and looked at them a little uncertainly. "Um," she said, not looking up at Minerva. "You'd give them back?"

"Of course," Minerva said.

"And you'll take good care of them?"

"Of course."

Lucy nodded and handed Minerva the box. "Be careful," she said quietly. "They're very important. I don't want anything to happen to them."

"I'll keep them safe," Minerva said, taking the box from her gently and setting it down on the bedside table to take with her later. "Do you have anything else in there?"

Lucy pulled out a small black leather bound book. "I have Daddy's journal," she said. "He wrote everything down."

Minerva smiled and nodded. "I know," she said. "He was always writing in that thing at the end of each day."

"He wrote about me and Daniel and you and Uncle Raj and everyone at his work and even Aunt Amelia and _Nani_ and all them too sometimes," she said. "He thinks the way you sleep on the window sill in your cat form when it's sunny is funny. He drew pictures too."

Minerva smiled and took the book from her. She felt the tears fill her eyes again as she read some of her husband's writing. She saw the small sketch he made of her laying on the window sill and smiled a little.

"I cry when I read some of that stuff too," Lucy said quietly. She moved so she was sitting beside Minerva now. She flipped the pages and stopped at a drawing of a baby in a rectangular box. "That's me."

"That's when you were first born," Minerva said with a smile. She flipped through the pages and saw more drawings of Lucy, Minerva and Daniel. There was a drawing of Raj that looked like Jay had drawn during a meeting. There was a drawing from the day Lucy had put a bunch of flowers in Minerva's hair and from the day Daniel scored the winning goal on his football team. Jay drew a lot of pictures. Nearing the end of the journal there were mostly only drawings. Each drawing was dated a day that Minerva knew he was in the hospital for. There were a couple passages here and there about Lucy or Daniel but mostly it was just drawings. He didn't mention the hospital or the treatments once. He drew pictures of flowers people had sent him or of Lucy sitting on the floor surrounded by books working hard on her homework or Daniel asleep in a chair with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open.

Minerva sighed and closed the book. She handed it back to Lucy but Lucy told her she could read it too and give it back when she was done. Minerva smiled and thanked her.

"That's everything," Lucy said, closing her box of important things. "Daniel has letters that Dad and his mum wrote to each other when she was going to school and Daddy was in London. They're a little silly too."

Minerva smiled. "I'll bet," she said. "I think they were only about eighteen or nineteen when they met."

"Did you and Daddy write any letter to each other?" Lucy asked.

"No," Minerva said with a sigh. "We weren't apart for a long period of time like that."

"Yes, you were," Lucy said with a frown.

"Oh, well, I guess we were," Minerva said. She had suddenly forgotten her two year absence. They had been apart for a long time and if they hadn't Jay may still be here now. She could imagine him snatching his notebook back and telling them off for looking at it while they laughed, showing her his parent's letters himself, collecting more postcards for Lucy, drawing more sketches of the three of them. Minerva took a deep breath and shook her head. She closed her eyes and did her best to keep the tears back. "It - it was just too dangerous for us to be sending each other letter then."

"Dangerous?" Lucy said with a frown. "Why was it dangerous? What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," Minerva said quickly standing up and wiping her face. She picked up the box of envelopes and notebook before darting towards the door. "Thank you for showing me your things, darling. Please excuse me."

Before Lucy could say anything Minerva was out the door. She walked briskly across the hall and into her own bedroom, closing the door of behind her.

Lucy frowned and got up. She put her box away and walked towards the hall. She put her ear to her mother's door and heard the sound of crying. She pulled away quickly. She remembered Daniel had said that she was hurting like they were. She hadn't really believed him but now she really thought that Minerva was.

Lucy sighed and walked back to her bedroom. She really hoped that things got easier. For all of them.


	4. TLT -- 4

_**Tuesday, December 23rd 1997**_

"There we go. All done," Nina said as she finished putting the elastic around the end of Lucy's braid.

"Thank you," Lucy said, standing up from the floor and pulling the braid over her shoulder. She turned around so that she was facing Nina who was sitting on Lucy's bed.

"No problem," Nina said with a smile. "So, are you all packed and ready to go?"

"I think so," she replied. She looked at the suitcase and backpack sitting by the door to her bedroom and back at Nina. "Nina, we're going to see my grandmother and my aunts and uncles and cousins."

"Yes, we are," Nina said with a small nod.

"I haven't seen them in two years," Lucy said.

"I know," Nina said with a sigh. "It'll be nice though, won't it? You've missed them over the last two years haven't you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Lucy said a little uncertainly. She leaned forward against Nina's legs and sighed. "I don't know... I just... I'm worried. I know that she said that they didn't see us because she asked them not too but... but they didn't have to listen to her. What - what if the real reason is that they don't like me anymore and they were trying to get away from me?!"

"Lucy," Nina said softly, putting a hand on her cheek and giving her a small smile. "That is not the reason. I know it's not."

"How?" Lucy asked. "How do you know?"

"I know because you are the most amazing six year old I have ever met and I can't imagine anyone meeting you and not liking you," Nina said.

Lucy sighed and leaned her forehead on Nina's. "It's happened before."

"If you're talking about the girls at school, they're just stupid," Nina said. "They wouldn't know an awesome person if it punched them in the face."

Lucy laughed a little.

"You are awesome, Lucy," Nina said, wrapping her arms around her.

"You always say that," Lucy said with a giggle.

"Because it's true," Nina said with a laugh.

Lucy hugged her and said, "you're awesome too."

"I know. Where do you think you learned all your awesomeness from? Obviously not Daniel," she said, making Lucy laugh again. She gave Lucy a little squeeze and then helped her up again. "Okay, love. We should probably head downstairs now."

"Okay," Lucy said, taking Nina's hand.

The two girls walked towards the door and grabbed Lucy's bags as they did. Lucy put her backpack on her back while Nina carried her suitcase. They went downstairs to the living room where Daniel and Minerva were waiting for them.

"Ready to go?" Daniel asked as they enter.

"Yep," Nina said, putting Lucy's bag down next to her own and Daniel's.

"Alright," Minerva said. She held up an old newspaper. "This is a Portkey. It will take us to Scotland in one minute. Lucy, do you remember how to take one?"

Lucy nodded as she walked over to Daniel. Daniel picked her up and she wrapped one arm around his neck and grabbed part of the newspaper with the other. Daniel took part of the paper in his hand as well. Minerva motioned Nina over.

"All you have to do is hold on tight," Minerva told her. "It may be a little rough."

"A little is an understatement," Daniel said as Nina held onto the newspaper.

"Great," Nina said. This was the exact reason she hated planes. She looked back at their suitcases. "What about the bags?"

Minerva waved her wand and the bags disappeared. "They will be at my mother's house waiting for us," she said. She checked her watch. "Okay, hold on tightly. Three... two... on-"

All of a sudden the room around them began to spin out of existence. They felt like they were being pulled from the back by a fishing line. Lucy held onto Daniel as hard as she could but she could feel her fingers slipping. Nina felt like her stomach was doing backflips. This was so much worse than flying. Why had she agreed to this? Finally they landed in snow at the outskirts of Isobel McGonagall's property in Castletown, Scotland.

"Oh my god, that was terrible," Nina said as she got up and brushed the snow off her. She looked over to where Daniel was helping Lucy up. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're good," Daniel said. "Like I said, a little rough is definitely an understatement." He helped Lucy up to her feet and picked her up again. "How you feel, kid?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said. She looked over at her mother who was standing perfectly fine a little ways away. She hadn't fallen and gotten snow all over her clothes like she, Daniel, and Nina did. "You look okay."

Minerva smiled. "I think you have to get used to it. I've taken my fair share of Portkey but I think the two of you are out of practice," she said.

"Out of practice," Daniel mumbled with a shake of his head. They hadn't taken many Portkeys when Minerva was with them anyways because of the war. It was difficult to get and before Lucy was born, the three of them could just side-along Apparate. Adding a fourth person is what made it difficult.

"Alright, shall we get going?" Minerva said.

They nodded and followed Minerva down the path towards the large manor on the property. Daniel put Lucy down and took her hand instead as they walked.

"You okay?" he whispered as they walked.

Lucy nodded. She knew he wasn't just asking about the portkey this time.

They made it to the front door and Minerva knocked. Lucy suddenly felt really scared. She moved closer to Daniel, almost behind him at this point. He looked down at her and smiled. He gave her hand a little squeeze. The door swung open and Isobel McGonagall stood on the other side. She was tall and beautiful with silver hair and barely any wrinkles. She smiled when she saw her daughter.

"Oh my, come in. Come in, quickly. It is so cold," she said, ushering them all inside. When they went in Isobel walked towards Daniel and pulled him into a hug. "Look at you! You look so much older than I remember, my love," she said. "How are you? How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," he said, letting go of Lucy's hand so that he could hug Isobel with both of his arms. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, pulling away a little bit. She placed her hand on his cheek and gave him a little smile. "It's you two I'm worried about. Are you sure you're alright, Daniel? If you need anything, anything at all -"

"We're okay," Daniel said with a smile.

"You look so much like your father," she whispered, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "I am so sorry for not being there when you needed me. So, so sorry."

"That's not your fault."

Isobel sighed. She didn't know about that. It definitely felt like it was partly her to blame. She gave Daniel's cheek a little pat and then kneeled down and smiled at Lucy. "You have also grown so much since the last time I saw you," she said, pulling Lucy into a hug too. "I missed you both so much."

Suddenly all of Lucy's anger was gone. It dissipated. All she felt was warmth. She felt safe and at home. She smelt Isobel's perfume and felt her hair on her cheek and suddenly it felt like how things used to be. She felt like nothing could hurt her here. Her awkwardness, her nervousness were all gone. Lucy was confident that her grandmother loved her and she loved her too. This was exactly what she had wanted. These past two years this was all she had ever wanted. Tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her arms around her grandmother's neck. She wanted to never let go

"I missed you too," she whispered.

"Oh, darling," Isobel said, picking her up into her arms and standing up. Tears filled her own eyes as she looked down at her granddaughter. "You are so strong, Lucy. I am so proud of you for how strong you've been."

Lucy just buried her face in the crook of Isobel's neck and held her tighter. Isobel put a hand on the back of her head. She kissed her temple before looking over at Minerva. She walked over to her and hugged her too.

"How are you, love?" she whispered, kissing her cheek.

"I'm alright," Minerva said, though she wasn't sure how true that statement was anymore. She looked at Lucy and sighed.

"Ah..." Daniel said when Isobel and Minerva pulled apart. "Isobel -"

Isobel's eyes widened a little before going back to normal. Daniel just called her by her first name. He never did that. He always called her _Nani_. Was this because he was older now or because she was gone for so long? Did he no longer consider her his family?

"- this is my girlfriend, Nina Chaudhry," he continued, apparently oblivious to what he had just done.

"Hello," Nina said with a smile, holding her hand out for Isobel to shake. "It is nice to finally meet you."

"You as well, Nina. I was excited to meet you when Minerva told me you were coming in her letter," Isobel said with a small smile, shaking Nina's hand. "Why don't you all take off your shoes and coat and we'll go sit down in the living room. I can start a fire in the fireplace to warm us up a bit. You four are the first to arrive."

They nodded and started taking off their shoes and coats. Isobel put Lucy down on the ground and helped her do the same. She gave Lucy a little smile.

"I'm glad you remember me," she said. "I was a little worried that you would have forgotten all about me. You were quite young the last time we saw each other."

Lucy shook her head. "I remember you."

Isobel smiled. Daniel took Lucy's coat from her and Isobel picked Lucy up again. She led the way to the living room and with a flick of her wand a fire started going in the fireplace. They all sat down on the couches and chairs, Lucy stayed in Isobel's lap. Isobel didn't mind at all. She was glad that at least Lucy forgave her.

Isobel flicked her wand again and a tea tray came flying from the kitchen. It set itself down on the table and the teapot started pouring itself into four cups. The milk and sugar went into two of the cups the way Isobel and Minerva liked it but waited on Daniel and Nina to tell Isobel how they liked their tea before going into their cups as well. The cups flew to their respective guest and the cookie tray flew over to Lucy first. Lucy took a cookie and it flew over to Daniel and Nina next, then to Minerva, and then back to the table.

"So, tell me all about you," Isobel said, looking up at Daniel. "What's happened in the last two years that I need to know about? You graduated, yes?"

"Yes," Daniel said with a nod, taking a sip of his tea. "I graduated secondary school. Now I'm studying business at the University of Kent. It's where I met Nina."

"That's wonderful," Isobel said with a smile. "What are you studying, dear?"

"Nursing," Nina said.

"Excellent," Isobel said with a smile. "And how long have you two been seeing each other for?"

"Three months now," Nina said with a smile.

"That's exciting," Isobel said. She looked down at Lucy. "And what about you, my dear? What year are you in now? Two?"

Lucy shook her head. "I'm in year seven."

"Year seven?" Isobel repeated.

"Lucy took a placement test last year that placed her five years ahead of her grade," Minerva explained with a smile. "So, she's skipped most all of primary school now."

"That's wonderful!" Isobel said. "I always knew you were very smart."

Lucy smiled a little. "Really?"

"Of course," Isobel said. "I used to take care of you on Fridays when your nanny, Christie, couldn't and I saw how smart you were. I told your mother from the very beginning that you were going to do great things. Didn't I, Minerva?"

"You did," Minerva said.

Just then there was another knock on the front door. Isobel smiled and put Lucy down on the ground. "Oh, that's probably one of your uncles. Please excuse me."

Lucy watched Isobel stand up and leave the room before walking over to Daniel. He smiled at her as she climbed up on the couch beside him. Isobel returned a few moments later accompanied by a man, a woman, and a teenage girl. The man had short, dark brown hair and the same blue eyes that Isobel and Minerva had. The woman had long brown hair that she had tied up in a high ponytail. She smiled warmly at Minerva and gave her a hug. The teenager looked a lot like her mother and she also hugged her aunt. The man was the first to notice the three others in the room. A huge smile spread across his lips as he strode towards them.

"Lucy! Daniel!" he said happily. Daniel stood up and tried to shake his hand but Robert stopped him and pulled him into a hug instead. "It's so wonderful to see you two again. We heard what happened and we're so sorry we weren't there."

"It's alright," Daniel said, hugging his uncle back. "It's nice to see you again, Robert."

He stopped for a second before letting it go and picking Lucy up off the couch. "Look at you! You're so old now!" he said. "I almost can't pick you up anymore!"

Lucy giggled as he tossed her up and down a bit. Minerva frowned. "Be careful, Robert."

"I'm always careful," he said with a smile though he stopped. He hugged Lucy tightly as Rosalin moved to hug and greet Daniel. "You haven't forgotten us have you, kiddo?"

Lucy shook her head. "I remember you and Aunt Rosalin and Lina."

"Lina?" Nina said with a smile. "I'm Nina."

"That's funny," Lina said with a smile. "We just have one letter difference in our names. It's nice to meet you, Nina."

"You as well," Nina said with smile.

Rosalin came over and took Lucy from her husband. "Hello, love," she said with a smile, kissing her on the cheek. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said.

They all sat back down and Malcolm and his wife, Daisy, came next with their younger son, Flynn. Flynn was back from Ireland where he worked with dragons. He excitedly told everyone all about the Irish Dragon Reservation and what they were having him do there. Lando, Malcolm's elder son, came in from Edinburgh a little later. They all happily greeted Lucy, Daniel and Nina. With the cousins it wasn't as hard. Daniel didn't hold them responsible for what their parents did. He was happy to see them all. They were all so much older than they had been and it was nice to see them again. He was surprised to see how old Lina looked and how muscular Flynn had gotten. Lando in all honesty looked very much the same.

Everyone sat in the living room and talked. They hadn't seen each other in quite some time and so finally now they were able to catch up. Lucy, who had moved so that Malcolm would have a place to sit, was now sitting on the floor in front of Nina. Malcolm had tried to tell her that it was okay but she didn't listen. Lucy listened to the adults talk but got bored right away. She squirmed around a bit and played with her hair. All she wanted to do was explore this giant house and see how much it had changed or play outside or read her books. She didn't want to sit here and listen to the adults talk anymore.

Finally Lando also got bored of sitting around with the adults and suggested that the kids leave them to talk. He led his cousins out of the sitting room and into the kitchen where they sat down at a large table. Lucy sat down between Nina and Flynn. Nina got along great with all of the cousins but that wasn't really a surprise. They talked and caught up. They had a lot to talk about, two years to cover. Lucy listened to them talk more before she got bored of this as well. She slid off her chair, claiming she had to go to the washroom, and left the kitchen. She walked through the hallway and looked at the pictures and knick knacks on the walls and shelves. They were all the same ones from two years ago. She didn't think that her grandmother liked change very much. Lucy picked up some of the little knick knacks and looked them over but didn't find anything too exciting.

Lucy saw something shiny lying on the ground and walked over to it. It as a small gold bracelet. Lucy picked it up and turned it over in her hands. She figured someone must have dropped it. She walked towards the living room where the adults were sitting. Pausing at the doorway, she debated whether or not she should interrupt them. She took a deep breath and stuck her head through the door. They didn't seem to notice her. She walked quietly towards her grandmother. When they did finally notice her they stopped talking and watched her stop in front of Isobel.

Lucy took Isobel's hand and turned it over to put the bracelet inside. "I think someone dropped this," she whispered.

"Oh, okay," Isobel said with a smile. "Thank you for giving it to me. I'll make sure to give it back to its rightful owner."

Lucy nodded and then ran from the room. Malcolm smiled. "She's still very well mannered."

"Yes she is," Daisy said with a smile. "I mean, she stood up and offered you her seat when we first came in. Our own son was busy sitting comfortably to worry about his father."

"Flynn was just excited to tell everyone about Ireland," Robert said with a laugh. "Though, Lina also didn't think to offer up her seat."

"Offering up your seat to someone older than you is a very big thing in Indian culture," Minerva said. "If there were no seats available for me or her father or Daniel, she would always get up."

"It's a good habit," Isobel said with a smile. She held up the bracelet Lucy gave her. "Did one of you drop this? She said she found it."

"Oh, wonderful," Rosalin said, reaching over for it. "I hadn't even realized I'd lost it."

"You're lucky Lucy is here," Daisy said. She looked over at Minerva and sighed. "How long has it been since Jay passed?"

"About three week," Minerva said, looking down at her teacup.

"How are you holding up?" Malcolm asked.

"I'm fine," she said though she didn't really sound fine. Suddenly Minerva was hit with a wave of deja vu. She'd been here before. She'd sat here with these people and mourned the death of her husband before. Why did this keep happening?

Isobel reached out and put a hand on Minerva's arm. Minerva looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, really," she said. "It's Lucy that I'm worried about. She used to be so... happy and curious and energetic. She used to run around and get distracted by everything. Now she's quiet and just sits around."

"It'll take some time, of course, but I'm sure she'll be back to normal soon," Daisy said. "She'll be running around here acting like her crazy little self soon enough."

"And your back now," Robert said. "That will probably help."

"I don't know how much it's helping," Minerva mumbled. "She still doesn't trust me."

"Give it time, Minerva," Malcolm said. "Soon she and Daniel will trust us all again."

"And maybe he'll start calling me _Nani_ again," Isobel said with a sigh. "And you all aunt and uncle again."

"I don't think he's doing it on purpose to get back at us," Malcolm said.

"No, I don't think he thinks like that," Rosalin said. "He's older, it's been two years. It just probably doesn't feel natural anymore. Maybe in time he'll go back to it."

"I wouldn't fault him for being angry with us," Robert said with a sigh. "He had to go through all that hospital stuff all on his own. That could definitely make someone resentful."

"He wasn't alone," Minerva said. "Raj helped out a lot. He took care of all the legal and hospital stuff. He managed Collins Enterprises and took care of them when Jay and I couldn't. Jay's assistant, Maria, also did a lot. She gets them groceries and meals if they need them. She's stayed on as Daniel's assistant now and takes care of anything that may come up at Collins Enterprises that he may need to deal with for him."

"That's very nice of the both of them," Isobel said.

Minerva nodded. "I don't think that I'm Raj's favourite person right now," she said. "He's said some horrible things but I don't really blame him for it. He's just trying to take care of Daniel and Lucy. I just wish he would be a little more supportive. I think if Lucy saw him forgive me she would be more inclined to do so too."

"I'm sure he'll come around," Robert said. "I remember him being a very stand up guy."

"He's done so much. He stays with them a couple nights out of the week, makes sure they have everything they need for school, takes care of the complicated money stuff," she said. "Daniel told me that before I came back and they found out that Jay was not going to make it, he offered to take custody of Lucy for him so that he could focus on school and live his life without worrying about having to take care of her. Daniel didn't want that though. He said that staying in Rochester and keeping a little bit of consistency would be better for Lucy."

"They are both amazing," Rosalin said.

"I hope I see Raj soon so I can thank him personally," Isobel said. "He's definitely a godsend."

Minerva nodded. She wasn't sure that Isobel would have much luck with Raj either though.

"So, anyways," Minerva said. "How was Germany, Mother? How was traveling with Rufus Scrimgeour?"

"Terrible as you predicted," Isobel said with a sigh. "He was absolutely dreadful to work with. I don't think that man has a humorous bone in his entire body. All work, work, work. Didn't even want to let me see Berlin at all. It was the first time I'd gone and he wanted me inside that stuffy office all day and night. I was able to sneak off and see the sights every now and then as well. A couple other women who worked in the German Ministry took me around. It was nice having a translator though most Germans can speak English."

"That's nice," Daisy said. "I'm glad you were able to get away. I've heard tales of the strict, no fun Rufus Scrimgeour."

"It's all true, I'm afraid," Isobel said with a laugh. "A funny thing did happen though when I came home. There was a big hole in my door! It looked like someone had tried to break it down. I'm guessing it was a teenager from in town. They come up here every now and then on drunken shenanigans."

"Oh, that wasn't a teenager from town," Minerva said. "That was Daniel."

"Daniel?"

Minerva nodded. "Near the end of Jay's life after the lung transplant didn't work, Daniel tried to find one of us," she explained. "He didn't know how to find us. He didn't know how to get a letter to me and I guess he didn't know that you two had a phone in your homes but he knew where you lived, Mother. While you were gone he flew up here to try to find you, hoping you would help. He got angry when you weren't and accidentally punched a hole through your door. He found out later from someone down in town that you had been gone for months now."

"Oh," Isobel said, smile falling. She felt absolutely horrible. Daniel had come looking for her and she hadn't been there. If she had been here she could had a healer look at Jay. She could have done something. Maybe... maybe Jay would still be alive if it wasn't for her. She should never have gone to Germany! "I - I..."

"It's okay," Minerva said softly. It was now her turn to put a hand on Isobel's arm. "It's not your fault."

Isobel wasn't too sure about that. She looked away as tears filled her eyes. She had let Daniel, Lucy, and Jay down. She could have done something but she wasn't here.

Nobody spoke for a very long time. They drank their tea in silence and thought about how different things would have been if they had made it easier for Daniel to find them if he needed help. They all felt responsible. It was all their faults.

...

Minerva entered Lucy's bedroom and found it was freezing cold inside. She looked around and saw Lucy sitting at the bay window. The window was wide open and she was leaning out of it, looking out at the back garden. Minerva smiled. "It's freezing in here."

Lucy looked up and shrugged.

"What are you doing?" Minerva asked, coming over and sitting beside her. She saw the goosebumps on her little arms and frowned.

Lucy pointed out the window and said, "Looking at the ocean."

"I see," she replied, looking out at the beach close by. "When I was little, I used to sit here on my bay window and look out at the water too."

"You lived here your whole life?" Lucy asked, looking up at her.

"Well, until I was eighteen," Minerva replied. "Then I moved to London for work but I deeply missed this place, I must say."

"It is nice," Lucy said. "There's no ocean in London."

"No there isn't," Minerva said with a smile. "So, did you have a nice night? Sleep okay?" Lucy nodded. "Did Nina sleep here with you?"

Lucy nodded again. "She gets worried."

"Oh?"

Lucy looked over at her and furrowed her brow. She crossed her arms and said, "I don't need her here if that's what you think. I can sleep on my own."

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy looked away quickly and whispered, "I was a little scared so she stayed with me."

"That's okay. There is no reason to be ashamed of that," she said, putting a hand on Lucy's arms.

Lucy nodded.

"So, how are you liking it here?" Minerva asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Good," Lucy said. "I missed everyone. Daddy said that we couldn't come here for Christmas because _Nani_ was traveling and then last Christmas we went to Spain and America over Christmas break."

"How was that?" Minerva asked.

"It was fun. Daddy had some meetings in Madrid and New York City so he decided to take us with him," she said. "We had Christmas in Madrid and it was fun. The hotel room was huge and the Christmas tree was really pretty but we didn't get to decorate it ourselves and I kind of missed England. It didn't snow very much in Madrid."

"Christmas needs snow," Minerva said.

Lucy nodded. "I missed it here," she said, looking back out at the ocean. "Scotland's nice too."

"It is."

"But now it feels different," she said.

"Like something's missing?"

Lucy nodded slowly. Minerva sighed and put a hand in her shoulder.

"I know," she said. "I feel it too."

"It still doesn't really feel like Christmas," she said. "I don't think it ever will."

"It just takes time, love," Minerva said. She looked back outside as well and saw it was starting to snow. The winds pushed the snow inside the window but Lucy didn't seem to notice or care. She watched the rough waves crash against the shore.

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Lucy suddenly.

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile.

"Um, well," Lucy mumbled. "Everyone seems... sad. Like they're happy but at the same time they're sad. And the other day you said it was dangerous now. How come?"

Minerva took a deep breath. She thought about what to tell Lucy. She couldn't just tell her that there was a war going on that had killed thousands of people and was devastating what was left of the wizard community in the United Kingdom. That slowly people were beginning to lose hope. Lucy wouldn't understand and Minerva didn't want her to. She didn't want her daughter to worry about these things. Lucy had enough to worry about right now without Minerva adding to it. "Times are a little tough right now, love," Minerva said instead. "But it's nothing to worry about. Things will get better. They always do."

"I don't know if they do," Lucy whispered, looking away from her mother again.

"They do, sweetheart," Minerva said, moving a little closer to her daughter. She put an arm around Lucy and pulled her closer. She felt how cold her body was and wanted to warm her up as much as she could. She wished there was a way for her to take all of Lucy's pain away right here, right now but there wasn't an easy fix for this. "It'll get better. For all of us. It just takes time."

There was silence for a long time. Finally Lucy turned back to her mother with a small smile on her face. She leaned her head on Minerva's side and whispered, "I'm glad you're back."

Minerva smiled. This was all that she had wanted Lucy to say in the past few days. These four little words filled her with so much happiness. Lucy was finally letting her in. Minerva gave her a little squeeze and said, "I'm glad I'm back too. I missed you and Daniel so much."

"Please don't leave again," she whispered, moving to hug Minerva's chest and burying her head in her side.

"I won't, darling," Minerva said, stroking Lucy's hair.

"What about when your school starts again?"

"I will be home every night," Minerva promised her. "Don't worry, I'll be home when you get home."

"Okay," Lucy said looking up with a small smile. "Maybe you can meet my friend Anne. She's really nice and she likes all the same things that I like. Well, maybe not all the things but that's okay."

Minerva laughed. "Well, I can't wait to meet her," she said. "Now, your fingers are frozen solid. Let's close this window and go see what everyone else is doing."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile, pulling away from her mother and standing up on her knees to pull the window down. Minerva smiled when she wasn't strong enough to pull it down. Minerva helped her close the window and then pulled out her wand and pointed it at Lucy.

Suddenly Lucy felt warmth spread through her whole body. "Wow," she said, looking down at her fingers that no longer felt like they were going to fall off. "I feel warm."

Minerva smiled and pulled her back into a hug. She kissed her cheek and pulled her off the couch. Lucy giggled as her mother carried her out of the room.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday, December 24th 1997**_

"So, do you remember much of Hogwarts?" Lina asked. She and Lucy were sitting on the couch in the living room talking about how much life had changed in the past two years. Lucy had missed talking to Lina. She used to be the cousin Lucy was the closest with.

"Not really," she said. "Even when Mum was here we didn't go to Hogwarts very often. I think I was really little when I went last. I don't remember much about it but I've read a lot about Hogwarts in books and stuff."

"You should come visit," Lina said. "Hogwarts is a lot better than any book can make it seem. It's just so... magical. You can feel it in the atmosphere there."

"I hope I can visit," Lucy said. "I would love to go back to Hogwarts."

"And you can always come when you're eleven," Lina said with a smile. "I'll be gone by then though."

"Do you know what you want to do after school?" Lucy asked.

"Not really. I haven't really decided yet. I'm supposed to have a meeting this year with your mum to discuss it," she said.

"Really? Why my mum?"

"She's my head of house. I'm in Gryffindor and she's the Head of Gryffindor House," Lina said. "In fifth year all the students have to go to a career advisory meeting with their head of house. I still haven't decided what I want to talk about with her though."

"Oh, I see," Lucy said. "How can you -"

"Lucy!" Nina's voice came through the room. She was coming down the stairs towards the living room.

"Yes?" Lucy asked, looking over at her.

"Dinner tonight is supposed to be fancy," Nina said, coming into the living room and speaking at a normal volume again. " _Oopar aaja_. _Hum apane kupada_ -"

" _Nahi, main_ dress _pahanana nahin chaahati_ ," Lucy replied, crossing her arms.

Lina looked between Lucy and Nina. She had no idea what they were saying to each other. She remembered things like this happening before. Sometimes Lucy and Daniel would start talking in Hindi to one another when they didn't want the others to know what they were saying or Jay would talk to Lucy and Daniel in Hindi.

Nina frowned and crossed her arms too. She said, " _Aap ise pahanenge agar aap khaana ke lie aana chaahate hain._ "

" _To Main khaane ke lie nahin aaegi._ "

" _Aap_ Christmas Eve _ke khaan_ e par nahi aane?

" _Ji_."

"Um," Lina mumbled. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Lucy replied, looking back at her.

"Okay, Lucy," Nina said, glaring at the little girl. "Fine. I'll go get Minerva or Daniel."

She waited for Lucy to protest but she didn't. The two girls stared at each other for a long time before Nina groaned and looked away. Lucy smiled. She had won their glaring contest. Nina stormed out of the room angrily.

"Maybe you should just do what she wants," Lina said with a laugh, watching her go.

"No, it's okay," Lucy said. "Um, so you have class with my mum, right?"

"Yeah," Lina said with a smile. "She teaches me transfigurations, but..." Lina looks around and lowered her voice. "She's kind of scary at school."

Lucy laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah, she's kind of strict and a very, um, no-funny-business type of teacher," Lina replied with a laugh.

"I could see that," Lucy said with a laugh. "When I was little, she -"

"What are you two talking about?" Minerva asked as she entered the living room, making both girls jump. They looked over at her and smiled innocently.

"Nothing," they said together.

Minerva raised an eyebrow at them but neither of them elaborated. "Alright... well," she said, "Lucy, Nina is waiting for you upstairs. You better hurry, we'll be having dinner soon."

"Um, I already told Nina -"

"I know what you told her," Minerva replied in her strict teacher voice, "but I am giving you the chance to reconsider your decision and you can do that upstairs." She held out her hand for Lucy to take. "Come along now."

Lucy sighed. She stared at Minerva for a second before giving in and getting up grumpily. Minerva was glad that there were still some things that Nina couldn't do. Things that Lucy still needed her mother for. Lucy took her hand and looked back at Lina. "See you."

"See you, Lucy," Lina said with a smile.

"Oh, Lina," Minerva said, looking back at her niece. "Your mother is looking for you as well. She would like your help in the kitchen."

"Okay," Lina said, getting up and walking towards the kitchen.

Minerva looked down at Lucy who still looked very grumpy. She smiled and shook her head before leading her up the stairs towards her bedroom where Nina was waiting. Nina was sitting on the bed putting on some earrings when Lucy and Minerva walked in. She looked up and smiled. "You've changed your mind."

"No," Lucy said, letting go of her mother's hand and walking over to Nina. She hopped up on the bed beside her and crossed her arms again. "Nina. _Main nahin pahanana chaahati._ "

Nina smiled. " _Mujhe pata hai_ ," she said. "Please just wear it for your _nani_. You'll look nice and it will make Isobel happy, won't it?"

Minerva wished she understood what Nina and Lucy were saying when they spoke to each other in Hindi. She always had this problem with Jay as well but he usually translated for her. She had picked up some words and given more time she could probably learn the language but she had always been a little preoccupied. She walked over to a chair where the dress Nina wanted Lucy to wear was laying. It was a simple dress with a black top and a dark red skirt. Minerva brought it over to the bed. Lucy looked at it and made a face.

"Lucy, why do you hate dresses? You wear them all the time for dance," Nina said with a sigh when Lucy still refused to put it on. "Everyone is going to be wearing one. Me, your mum, Lina, everyone."

Lucy shrugged and Minerva laid out the dress on the bed beside her. "It is a lovely dress," she said. "It'll look nice on you."

"It looks like _tattee_ ," Lucy mumbled quietly. Minerva had never heard this word before.

"Hey, watch the language," Nina said with a shake of her head though she did smile. She nudged Lucy a little with her elbow. Lucy smiled a little, getting the reaction that she wanted. Minerva raised her eyebrow, not knowing what exactly Lucy said. Nina sighed. "Okay. How about this, if you put on the dress I won't tell everyone at dinner what happened with Anne a couple of weeks ago."

Lucy looked at her. "What happened with Anne?"

Nina looked at Minerva and then back at Lucy with a sly smile. "Oh you know, the chocolate pudding incident..."

Lucy stood up immediately and grabbed the dress. She walks towards the bathroom. "I'll wear the stupid dress."

Nina and Minerva laughed as Lucy closed the door behind her. Minerva looked at Nina. "What did she say the dress looked like?"

"She said it looked like shit," Nina said with a laugh.

"This whole knowing another language thing is going to make it hard on me isn't it?" Minerva asked with a shake of her head. "Maybe I should learn."

"You should," Nina said. "Do you speak any other language?"

"French but that's it," she replied. "A little bit of Latin but I don't really count that."

"Oh, I speak French too," Nina said.

"Really? So, you speak three languages?"

"Yep, learning a second language was a big thing in the school curriculum here," Nina said. "So I did French and then decided to continue it in university. And of course I knew Hindi already because that's what my parents speak."

"Where do your parents live?"

"They live in India," Nina replied. "They used to live here when I was in secondary school but decided to move back to India when I started going to University. All my family is there so it's nice for them to be with my grandparents and aunts and uncles."

"So are you going to go back as well?"

"Oh no," Nina said with a laugh, shaking her head. "No, India is great but I don't want to live there. I like it here in the UK, besides I doubt Daniel and Lucy would like to move to India with me."

Minerva smiled. "I don't know," she said. "I feel like Daniel would go anywhere for you."

"Well, I wouldn't ask him to anyway," Nina said with a shy smile. "Honestly, sometimes I think Daniel is too nice. He needs to think about himself a little bit more."

Minerva was about to say something when the bathroom door opened again and Lucy came out in the dress. She walked over to Nina and turned around, pulling her hair over her shoulder so it was out of the way. "Can you zipper it?"

"Of course," Nina said, reaching over and doing up the zipper for her. "See you look great!"

"Eh," Lucy said with a shrug.

Nina rolled her eyes and pulled Lucy up onto the bed. "Okay, you little brat," she said making Lucy laugh, "how should we do your hair today?"

"How are you doing your hair?" Lucy asked.

"Hmm... I was thinking maybe a half clipped back and half down thing," Nina replied, picking up a hand mirror from the bedside table and looking at herself in it. She handed it to Lucy. "What do you think?"

"I think that'll look nice," Lucy said, looking at herself in the mirror too. She moved it up so that she could see Nina through it and smiled. "I wanna do it too."

"Okay, sounds good, we can be like twins," Nina said with a laugh, picking up the hairbrush and brushing it through Lucy's hair.

"And I want to wear earrings too," Lucy said.

"You have your ears pierced?" Minerva asked a little shocked.

Lucy nodded. "Daddy let me get them done when I was four," she said, holding up four fingers for Minerva to see.

"Four?" Minerva muttered, furrowing her brow at Lucy. She couldn't believe that Jay would let Lucy do that. "That's so young..."

Nina smiled. "It's not that bad. I mean I got mine done when I was a baby. It's kind of an Indian thing I think," she said, clipping back Lucy's hair. She stood up from the bed and walked over to her bag. She brought it over to the bed. Pulling out small red studs, she said, "How about these ones? They match your dress."

"Okay," Lucy said. She took the earrings from Nina and pulled her old earrings out of her ear. She handed these ones over to Nina. "Keep them safe."

"I will," Nina said with a smile. "Are these real gold?"

"Yep," Lucy said. "Daddy gave them to me so I have to keep them safe."

"Okay, I'll put them in here," Nina said, pointing out a side pocket on her bag. "Do you want to wear a necklace too?"

"Okay."

"So you don't like dresses but you're okay with jewellery?" Minerva asked with a smile.

Lucy smiled. "Yep."

Minerva shook her head but smiled. Nina pulled out a necklace with a red pendant that matched the earrings Lucy was wearing. She moved back to sitting behind Lucy on the bed and put the necklace around her neck. She clasped it in the back and said, "there you go, my love."

"Thank you, Nina!" Lucy said happily.

Minerva left to get changed while Nina did her own hair. When Minerva returned to the room Nina was doing her makeup while Lucy jumped on the bed watching her. "I don't know how your grandmother would feel about you jumping on the bed."

Lucy stopped immediately and looked at her mother with wide eyes. "Would she be mad?"

Minerva smiled. "No, I'm only joking."

"Oh, okay," Lucy said with a smile as she started jumping again. Nina looked over and laughed. Lucy looked back over at her and watched her brush a little bit of red powder lightly across her cheekbones. "Maybe I should do makeup too."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Nina said with a smile, looking at her through the mirror. "You'll start to look so much older."

Minerva walked over to the bed and sat down. She reached over and grabbed Lucy by the arm. Lucy laughed and flopped down beside her mother. "You don't need makeup," she said with a smile. "So, Christmas is tomorrow, are you excited?"

Lucy shrugged. "Do we have to go to church?" she asked, making a face. "I don't want to wake up early to go to church."

"Well, we usually go to church," Minerva said. "It makes _Nani_ and Uncle Malcolm happy but this year we can't go down into town so we won't be going to church."

"How come?" Lucy asked.

Just then the door opened and Daniel came in wearing a dress shirt and trousers, saving Minerva from answering Lucy's question. He smiled when he saw Lucy. "You wore the dress, that's good," he said. "I was a little worried I'd come in here and find you still whining about not wanting to wear it."

Lucy stuck her tongue out at Daniel and he laughed. He walked up to his girlfriend and hugged her from behind. "You look beautiful."

"Why thank you," Nina said with a smile.

"You guys need to get a room," Lucy mumbled.

Minerva laughed. She stood up from the bed and held her hand out for Lucy. "Why don't we go downstairs and let them finish getting ready?" she said. "I'm sure the others are heading down too."

"Okay," Lucy said, jumping down from the bed and taking her mother's hand. She looked over at Daniel and Nina.

"Don't worry, kid," Daniel said with a smile, still hugging Nina from behind. "We'll be down in a minute."

Lucy nodded and pulled her mother towards the door by the hand. Minerva smiled and followed. They walked down the stairs and into the dining room. Isobel, Malcolm, Robert and Daisy were already sitting down. When they entered Isobel smiled at Lucy. "Oh, don't you look lovely!" she said, opening her arms and motioning Lucy over. "I sorely missed having a little girl running around this house. Come sit next to me, darling."

Lucy let go of her mother's hand and sat down on the chair next to her grandmother. Minerva sat down on the other side of Lucy. Flynn and Lando came in next and took their seats. Then Daniel and Nina and then finally Rosalin and Lina. Malcolm led the grace. Lucy kept looking up over at Daniel during it. Daniel gave her a small smile. Nina wasn't really sure what she was doing. She just followed along with what Lina was doing beside her. When they were done, the food appeared on the empty dishes in the centre of the table. Minerva helped Lucy pour some food into her plate. They ate and talked. Malcolm asked Daniel and Nina what they were studying. Flynn answered more of Lucy's questions about dragons. Lando told them about a new girl he had been seeing named Sirena and Lina answered questions about how her O.W.L. classes were going.

After dinner the family moved over to the living room to drink their tea. Daniel sat on the couch with an arm around Nina watching Flynn and Lando play chess while Malcolm and Robert and Rosalin discussed Robert's work in Egypt with Gringotts Bank. Isobel, Minerva and Daisy were talking amongst themselves as well, a lot quieter than everyone else. Daisy was telling them what was happening at the Scottish branch of the Ministry. Lina sat on the floor in front of the tree with Lucy.

"So, you know about Christmas crackers, I'm sure," Lina said, holding out what looked like a normal cracker.

"Yeah..." Lucy said suspiciously.

"Well, these ones are basically the same thing but, like, better," Lina said with a smile. She holds it out for Lucy to grab the other end. Lucy did so and they pulled.

 _BOOM!_

"Lina!" Rosalin exclaimed with her hand over her heart as the room filled with a blue smoke. "You have to warn everyone when you open one of those!"

Lina laughed. "Sorry, mum."

Lucy laughed too. Isobel smiled and shook her head. She took out her wand and with one flick the blue smoke swirled into a small ball in the centre of the room before disappearing completely. She asked, "so what did you get?"

Lucy looked down and saw that she had gotten the bigger end. A large Viking helmet sat on the floor in front of her. Lina picked it up and put it on Lucy's head. It fell below her eyes. Her head lowered slightly. "Ouf, it's heavy!"

Everyone laughed as Lucy pushed the helmet up so she could see. Lina grabbed the small piece of paper and read it. "Okay, here's the joke; _what does Santa suffer from if he gets stuck in a chimney? Claustrophobia."_

"Wow," Daniel said with a shake of his head. "I guess wizard crackers have the same terrible jokes that regular crackers do."

Flynn smiled. "I don't know, I kind of liked it."

"Of course you did," Lando mumbled. "You have the same stupid type of humour that whoever makes those do."

Lucy looked at the last thing that came out of the cracker. It was a small book. She picked it up and read the title. _Atlas of the World._ Atlas? The book looked far too small to hold a map of the whole world. Lucy opened it up.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as a holographic image of the globe shone out of the book.

"Wow, that's cool," Lina said. She reached up and touched the globe. It started to move when she did so. She made a flicking motion with her fingers and it spun around on its axis like an actual globe.

"That's awesome," Lucy said with a smile. She closed the book and the globe disappeared. She stood up and ran to Nina and Daniel. "Look! Look!"

Nina smiled. "Yeah, that's really cool, Lucy."

She reached over and took the Viking helmet off Lucy's head as it kept falling past her eyes. She put it on Daniel's head and he laughed. "Do I look like a Norse God?"

"I think you need muscles to be a Norse God," Lucy said matter-of-factly as Nina pulled her into her lap, making everyone laugh again.

Daniel made a face at her. "Hey, watch it," he said. "You don't want to be put on the naughty list the night before Christmas."

"I won't be put on the naughty list," Lucy said as she opens the book again to show Nina the globe. "I'm a good little Indian girl."

Nina smiled and fixed Lucy's hair. Daniel shook his head and took the helmet off, putting it on Lucy's head again ruining Nina's work. Isobel watched the way Nina, Daniel and Lucy acted with each other and then looked over at her daughter. Minerva was sipping her tea quietly and looking away. Lina also stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to look at her cousin's chess game.

"He's got you on the ropes, Flynn," she said with a laugh.

"I've got it, Lina, don't worry," Flynn said, annoyed.

Daniel looked at the board too. "You could ask Lucy for help," he suggested. "She's good at chess."

"Really?"

"Yep," Lucy said. "No one's beat me yet."

"Okay, kid," Flynn said motioning for her to come over. Lucy slid down from Nina's lap, handing her the book and sat down next to Flynn on the ground in front of the coffee table. "Think you can help me out of this one?"

"Okay, so let me get this straight, you are enlisted the help of a six year old?" Lando said with a laugh. "You're definitely desperate, brother."

"You won't be so cocky after you lose to this six year old, Lando. Just wait. I have faith in mine and Lucy's abilities to crush you!"

"Well, my ability," Lucy mumbled quietly as she concentrated on the board. "You are not very good at chess."

Lina laughed. "I have faith in Lucy's abilities too, not so much Flynn's."

Lucy finally moved a knight across the board and sat back. She was still wearing the Viking helmet and was constantly lifting it up above her eyes so that she could actually see. While they played Malcolm moved over to sit near Minerva.

"Okay, I know that you were very smart when you were six but even you were never this smart. Have you considered that your daughter could be a genius?" he asked as he sat down.

"No, never once," Minerva muttered, giving him a look.

"Sarcasm really does not look great on you, Minerva," he said, giving her a look before smiling and shaking of his head.

Minerva smiled. "Lucy has a photographic memory," she explained. "Though I'm sure she has quite the IQ on top of that. It's one thing to remember everything, it's another to actually apply the knowledge."

"Ah," Malcolm said.

"She seems to be very powerful as well," Isobel said. "I saw her doing magic yesterday in the garden. She made so many snowballs and had them firing at the other children with just a flick of her hand. I know she started doing magic at a very young age, that was true for all of you as well, but I've never seen anyone without a wand or any formal training do anything like that with their magic."

"She's already doing some complicated spells," Minerva said. "She's read all the textbooks I left behind and is already doing most of her chores with magic."

"She's a very special one," Rosalin said with a smile.

"Most children her age can only do magic when they're very emotional and even then it's mostly just small magic," Isobel said. "She, on the other hand, has so much control over her magic for someone so young."

"I can't wait to see what she can do once she's a little older and actually has some schooling," Malcolm said.

Minerva looked at Lucy. She watched her concentrate on the board and think carefully before moving her next piece. "I think that she is going to do great things," Minerva said quietly with a small smile on her face. Lucy was very special and Minerva was very proud of her. "Whether that is in the Muggle world or the magical one, it's up to her."

"Checkmate," Lucy said.

"What? No!" Lando exclaimed, looking at the board.

"You lost, bro!" Flynn said with a laugh.

"I'm still undefeated," Lucy said with a smile.

"Even with the huge disadvantage of playing with Flynn's mess," Lina said with a laugh.

"Shut up," Flynn snipped at her. He looked down at Lucy. " _We_ did it right?"

Lucy looked up at him and smiled. "Sure," she said, letting him take some of the credit even though she did do most of the work. "We did it."

He laughed and stood up, pulling Lucy onto his shoulders. Lucy laughed, holding onto Flynn's chin with one hand and holding the Viking helmet up above her eyes with the other as Flynn runs around the room. "We did it! We did it!" he cheered as he bounced her up and down. "We beat Lando! We are awesome and he sucks!"

"Yay!" Lucy cheered.

"Flynn, be careful," Malcolm called.

"Why don't we do the presents now," Isobel said with a smile.

"Ooh, presents," Flynn said childishly.

"Presents? But it's not Christmas yet," Lucy said.

Flynn set Lucy down. "Yeah, we usually open one present each on Christmas Eve, don't you remember?" he said. "Then the rest on Christmas day. Grandma usually has us open hers on Christmas Eve."

"Yeah, I don't think your grandmother can make herself wait another whole night," Robert said with a laugh.

Isobel smiled. "No, I can't. Now come sit."

All the kids moved to sit down on the floor in front of their grandmother. Lucy sat down next to Nina and Daniel who had been ushered over as well. Nina had not expected a present at all, not really being a part of the family but Isobel ushered her over anyways. Isobel flicked her wand and gifts flew out from under the tree and into the laps of everyone in the room. Presents also flew into the laps of Isobel's own children and their wives. Everyone opened their presents. Flynn got an encyclopaedia on different dragon breeds which he loved. Lando received a magic key that could unlock any lock he wanted. Lina was given a gold necklace that could make the wearer's hair change into bright neon colours. She loved it and thanked Isobel over and over. Nina was given a camera that could take moving pictures and Daniel got a miniature glass spinning top called a Sneakoscope. It supposedly emitted a high pitched noise in the presence of description. Isobel gave Lucy a small shoulder bag that was a lot larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. She could put anything she wanted it in there without having to worry about it getting too heavy.

"Thank you," Lucy said, walking over to her grandmother and giving her a hug.

Isobel pulled her up into her lap and smiled. "Of course, darling," she said softly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Welcome back home."

Minerva smiled. She was glad that Lucy and Daniel were back with their family. A lot had happened in the last few weeks and she hoped that the added family support helped pull them all out of the dark a little bit more. Minerva noticed Lucy yawn and looked at the clock. It was very late now and well past Lucy's bedtime. She looked over at Nina who was busy changing her hair colour with Lina's necklace and Daniel who was reading Flynn's book over his shoulder to notice the time.

"Lucy," she said, "I think it's time for bed."

"No, I think I should stay up," Lucy replied, looking over at her mother. "I'm not tired."

"You're not tired?" Minerva asked skeptically.

"Nope," she said but suddenly she yawned to contradict her point. Minerva raise an eyebrow at her but she shook her head adamantly.

Isobel laughed. "Alright, I think you should go to bed, sweetheart," she said. "I mean, the sooner you go to bed the sooner Christmas comes right."

Nina looked over at Lucy and smiled. "Oh, I completely lost track of time."

"That's alright, Nina," Minerva said, setting her cup down and standing up. "You can stay here, I'll take Lucy to bed."

"Oh, okay," Nina said with a smile.

Lucy looked at her mother and then over to Nina with a frown. She slid down off of Isobel's lap and walked over to where Nina was sitting. "You're not coming?"

"It's alright, love," she said. "Minerva is going up with you and I'll be up soon too. That's okay right?"

Lucy sighed but nodded. "Okay."

Nina smiled and gave Lucy a hug. "Goodnight."

"Night," she mumbled.

Lucy said goodnight to everyone else before taking her things and walking upstairs with Minerva. Minerva led her into her bedroom. Lucy walked over to sit down on the bed with a sigh. Minerva gave her a small smile. She took the Viking helmet off of Lucy's head and sets it down on the table. Lucy took the butterfly clip out of her hair as well and handed it to Minerva, who set it down on the dresser.

"It's okay, Lucy," Minerva said, knowing her daughter was still a little sad that Nina hadn't come to put her to bed. "Nina will be up soon enough."

"I know," she said quietly. She hopped off the bed and grabbed her pajamas from the dresser drawer. She then walked to her mother and turned around. "Can you get my zipper?"

"Yes," Minerva said. She leaned over and unzipped the dress. Lucy walked over to the bathroom to change. Minerva sat down on the bed and took out her own earrings while she waited for Lucy to come back.

Lucy came back wearing her Batman pajamas. She threw the dress she had been wearing on a chair and climbed up onto the bed next to her mother. She took off the necklace Nina had given her and handed it to her mother.

"Do you want to take off the earrings too?" Minerva asked standing up to put the necklace on the dresser as well.

"I have to put on the other ones," Lucy said, pointing over at Nina's bag of jewellery. "Or the holes will close over."

Minerva picked it up and opened the pocket that Nina had put Lucy's other earrings in and pulled them out. She looked them over. They were gold earrings in the shape of leaves. Minerva walked back to the bed and handed Lucy the earrings. She sat down and watched as Lucy took off the ones she was wearing and put the gold ones back in. She sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe your father let you get your ears pierced."

Lucy smiled a small smile as she set the earrings down on the bedside table. "He said you wouldn't like it."

"And I'm guessing that only made you want to do it even more, right?" she asked with a smile.

"No..." Lucy said with a smile. She looked over at the clock and frowned. It wasn't really that late. Daniel and Nina always stayed up so much later than she did. It wasn't fair. "I'm not tired. I don't want to sleep."

"You say that every night."

"I think I'll stay up and wait for Nina to come upstairs," said Lucy.

"Lucy..." Minerva mumbled with a sigh. "Alright, what's wrong? Why do you need Nina so you can sleep?"

"I don't need her," Lucy said, looking away. "I just like it when she's here. She always comes and puts me to bed. Why isn't she today?"

"Well, even she needs a break sometimes, right?"

"A break from me?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Minerva said. She moved over and sat down next to Lucy, putting a hand on her back. "I just mean that sometimes she might like to keep doing whatever she's doing without having to worry about you not getting enough sleep."

Lucy sighed. "Well, I still don't want to sleep."

She stood up, quickly moving out of her mother's reach. Minerva gave her a look. "You need to go to bed, Lucy."

"You know, Batman doesn't sleep! He fights bad guys at night," Lucy said jumping down from the bed. She ran around the room excitedly and did a pretty impressive cartwheel. Minerva smiled and shook her head. "He's so cool! He can do flips and punch out bad guys like The Joker!"

Minerva stood up from the bed and walked over to where Lucy was. She tried to grab her but Lucy moved out of the way and laughed. "Lucy."

"He's like a ninja! You can't catch him!"

"Okay, I'm going to count to ten," Minerva said, putting her hands on her hips and gave her a pointed look. "You better be in bed by then or else." Lucy giggled as Minerva started counting, still not taking her very seriously. "One, two, three, four, five, six... Lucy, I'm not playing anymore. Get in bed. Seven... Eight... I'm serious. Nine... te-"

"Okay, okay!" Lucy said quickly, smile fading away. She scurried over and jumped up onto the bed. "I'm in bed."

Minerva smiled. She was glad that even if Lucy was smart for her age those old tactics still worked on her. "Good."

Minerva walked over to the bed and pulled the blanket up over her daughter. Lucy crossed her arms and looked up at her mother with a frown. "Nina's more fun."

"Well, she'll be here soon. You can stay up and wait for her if you want to but you have to lay here in bed while you wait," Minerva told her, knowing full well that there was no way Lucy was going to last that long.

"Fine, I will," Lucy replied stubbornly.

"Okay," Minerva said with a smile. She leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Lucy."

"Night."

...

"You're jealous," Isobel said, looking over at her daughter with a small smile. They were standing in the kitchen alone. It was quite late now and everyone else headed upstairs to go to bed a while ago. It was just Minerva and Isobel left, cleaning up the rest of the dishes and silverware.

"What?" Minerva asked looking over at her mother with a raised eyebrow.

"You're jealous of the way Nina is with Lucy," Isobel said, watching Minerva pick up the glass and inspect it with a frown. Minerva walked passed her, opened a cupboard, and put the glass away.

"I don't know where you got that idea but -"

"Minerva, it may not be obvious to anyone else but I'm your mother. I know you better than that," Isobel interrupted with a smile and a shake of her head. She put down a plate in the sink so it could start washing itself and turned to look back at her daughter. "And I know that you're jealous of Nina."

Minerva sighed and closed the cupboard. She turned back around, crossed her arms and leaned back on the counter. She avoided her mother's gaze when she spoke. "It's not that I'm jealous," she said. "It's just..."

"It's just that you wish Lucy would come to you when she was excited or ask you to do things for her instead of going to Nina first?" Isobel said.

"It would be nice, yes," she muttered, still not looking at her mother.

Isobel gave her daughter a knowing smile. She walked over to Minerva and put a hand on her arm. "Just give it time, love," she said, leaning back on the counter as well and put her arm around her daughter. Minerva sighed and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. "Lucy will get over you not being there. Children don't really see logic, you know. They see who's there and who's not. You had your reasons for not being there, reasons which she will understand when she gets a little older but all that matters now is that you're here now. In time she'll realize that you're here to stay and she'll treat you the same way as she treats Nina."

"I know," Minerva mumbled. "It's just... she's only been around for Lucy for three months! I know I wasn't there but Nina has only been there for three months."

"Yes but, you have to remember, it was also most likely the hardest three months of Lucy's life," Isobel said with a sigh. "She can have two mother figures, Minerva. She doesn't have to be restricted to one."

"Yes, I just wish she'd realize that too."

"She will," Isobel said. "In time."


	5. TLT -- 5

_**December 1987**_

 _Amelia Bones sat at the bar with her drink in hand. She looked down at her watch and sighed. She would admit that it had been her own fault that she had to wait for her friend so long, she had gotten here quite early, but in a minute Minerva would be late and the blame would shift to her. Amelia had brown hair tied up in her customary sophisticated updo. She was wearing a long black dress and a silver necklace with matching earrings. It had been a while since she had dressed up like this to go out to something that wasn't a work function._

" _Waiting for a boyfriend."_

 _Amelia looked over and saw a man with black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes standing beside her, nursing a gin and tonic. He was wearing a grey blazer over a light blue dress shirt and black trousers. Amelia noticed that the top button of his suit was unbuttoned. Apparently he was very relaxed. He was leaning on the bar beside her though was not looking at her._

" _Excuse me?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at the man._

" _That's my guess," he said, looking over at her and giving her a crooked little smile. "You're sitting here waiting for a boyfriend. I would have guessed husband but you're not wearing a ring."_

" _And what made you think I was waiting for a boyfriend?" Amelia asked._

" _Well, you're obviously waiting for someone. You keep checking your watch and sighing so I'm guessing whoever it is you are waiting for is late."_

" _You are very observant. Though, what made you think the person I was waiting for was a boyfriend?"_

" _That's more speculation than evidence based, I will admit," the man said. "Just thought that someone as beautiful as you would probably have a boyfriend."_

 _Amelia couldn't help but smile a little though she tried very hard not to. "I'm sorry to say that you are mistaken," she said. "I am waiting for someone, that is true, but I'm waiting for a friend. Not a boyfriend."_

" _Well, I was close," he said with a smile. "So, what are you and this friend of yours planning for this fine evening?_

" _She's introducing me to someone," she replied._

" _A blind date then."_

" _No, this someone is her someone."_

" _I see," he said. "Raj Patil, by the way. Maybe should have lead with that. Name's kind of important."_

" _I must admit Mr. Patil, I've never had someone use a chat up line like this on me," Amelia said with a smile._

" _Call me Raj, please," he said, pushing himself off the bar and turning so he could give her his full attention. "And that wasn't a chat up line. That was me being genuinely interested in what a beautiful woman like you was doing in a fancy place like this all alone."_

" _Uh huh."_

" _Besides, I'm also waiting for a friend," he said. "He's introducing me to his new girl. Something about her being special and all. I suppose I'll see for myself though."_

" _I feel the same way about my friend's new man."_

" _We're good friends."_

" _We are."_

" _So, I've told you my name," Raj said. "Are you going to tell me yours?"_

" _Amelia," she said. "Amelia Bones."_

" _Well, it's nice to meet you Ms. Bones," he said with a smile, sticking out his hand for her to shake._

 _Amelia shook it and said, "you can call me Amelia."_

" _So, what do you do, Amelia?" Raj asked._

" _I'm a judge."_

" _A judge? Wow," he said. "That's interesting. You seem quite young to have already attained a judgeship."_

" _How old do you think I am?" Amelia asked with a raised eyebrow._

" _Come now, that's an obvious trap. I'm not answering that," he said making her laugh._

 _Amelia smiled. "What do you do, Raj?" she asked._

" _I'm the COO of a company here in London," he replied._

" _What's a COO?"_

" _It's the chief operating officer of a company. Basically the second in command after the CEO," Raj said._

" _Wow. You're really up there then," Amelia said._

" _I suppose," he said with a smile. "It's not that big a deal, really."_

" _Right."_

 _Raj smiled and was about to say something else when he was cut off._

" _Amelia!" Minerva's voice called from behind her._

 _Amelia turned around and saw her friend walking towards them holding the arm of a tall man with messy black hair and grey eyes. This must be the Jay Collins man that she spoke so fondly of. Amelia had to admit that, so far, she was quite impressed. She smiled and got up off the stool she had been sitting on. Raj also smiled at Minerva and Jay._

" _Raj," Jay said with a smile. "How are you?"_

" _Oh," Amelia said, looking over at Raj._

 _Raj smiled. "It seems we were waiting for the same people," he said to her before turning to Jay and shaking his hand. "I'm good. At least this time when you were late you left me with some good company."_

" _You two have already met?" Minerva asked, looking at her friend with a raised eyebrow._

" _We just did," Amelia said._

" _I'm glad," Jay said with a smile. "Well, Minerva, let me introduce you to my friend and business partner, Raj Patil. Raj this is Minerva McGonagall, my girlfriend."_

" _It's nice to finally meet you, Minerva," Raj said with a charming smile, sticking out his hand for Minerva to shake._

 _She smiled and took his hand. "It's nice to meet you as well, Raj," she said. "It seems you've already met my friend, Amelia."_

" _Yes, we've been keeping each other company while we waited for the two of you," he said. He looked down at his watch. "You two are six minutes late."_

" _Oh, six minutes," Jay said. "We are terribly sorry."_

 _Raj smiled and gave a little shrug._

" _Jay, this is Amelia Bones," Minerva said, taking her turn introducing her friend. "Amelia, Jay Collins."_

" _It's nice to meet you, Amelia," Jay said, shaking her hand._

" _You as well, Jay," Amelia said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you."_

" _Good things, I hope," he said with a laugh._

" _Of course," she said._

 _A hostess came over and led the way to their table. They ordered more drinks, looked over the menus, and ordered their food. As they ate, Amelia and Raj got to know their respective friend's new partner a little better. Raj asked Minerva about her work. When he learned that she was from Scotland, he asked her more about that and he seemed genuinely interested. Minerva liked Raj. He didn't talk down to her just because she did not make as much money as Jay did or because she grew up in a tiny Scottish town on the Northern coast._

" _So, how did you two meet?" Raj asked, looking between Amelia and Minerva._

" _We met at school when we were eleven," Minerva replied._

" _Wow, eleven," Raj said. "That's a really long time ago."_

" _Not that long," Amelia said, giving him a look._

 _Jay laughed. "Of course," he said._

" _When we first met, I didn't think that Minerva like me very much," Amelia said with a smile._

" _Hey," Minerva said, "I believe it was you who called me something not so nice in French."_

" _Really?" Raj asked with a laugh._

" _In my defence," Amelia said, "I didn't think that you would understand."_

 _They all laughed. Raj told them that his and Jay's meeting was not as interesting. "We met in class during university. We were eighteen," he said. "So we haven't been friends for as long as you two."_

" _Well, it doesn't really matter how long you know someone," Amelia said with a smile. "Some people you could know for years and never learn a thing about them. Others you could know for a couple months and already know that they will be very important people in your lives. I think that I knew that Minerva and I would be friends for a long time after a few months of knowing her."_

" _I agree," Jay said with a smile, looking over at Minerva. Minerva smiled too and gave his hand a little squeeze._

" _Very eloquently said," Raj said making Amelia roll her eyes._

 _They talked and ate more. Amelia asked Jay more about himself. She asked about work and Daniel. Jay liked his girlfriend's best friend too. She was very kind and thoughtful. He didn't think that he had ever met someone as genuinely nice as Amelia Bones._

" _I really do like the work that your company does. You do a lot of charity work as well which is very nice. I actually attended one of your charity galas a couple of years ago," Amelia said. "I think it was for cancer research."_

" _Oh did you? What did you think?" Jay asked._

" _It was nice. I don't usually like parties like those but some people from work were going and asked me to come along. I decided to go because it was for charity after all. Maybe if I had invited Minerva, you two would have met a long time ago."_

 _Jay smiled. "Maybe."_

 _After they finished their food, Minerva and Amelia got up to go to the restroom leaving Jay and Raj alone at the table._

" _Minerva's really something," Raj said with a smile. "Seems like she's not afraid to call you on your bullshit."_

" _What bullshit?"_

" _Any and all."_

 _Jay smiled and shook his head. "I'm glad you liked her. You should see the way she is with Daniel," he said. "She's just an amazing woman and I'm so glad that I haven't scared her off yet."_

" _I don't think anything could scare that woman," Raj said with a laugh. "What's Daniel think of her?"_

" _He loves her too," Jay said with a smile. "I was a little worried that he wouldn't take me dating another woman very well but he seemed okay with it."_

" _It's been a very long time, Jay. I'm glad that you're getting back out there again."_

" _I definitely love Minerva McGonagall," he said. "I think I'm going to marry her one day."_

" _Wow, that's fast," Raj said with a smile. "I expect to be Best Man again. Don't you go giving my job away to someone else now."_

" _Don't worry, I won't," Jay said with a laugh._

 _In the washroom, Minerva looked over at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "What were you and Raj talking about before we came?"_

" _Oh, nothing really," she replied, not looking at Minerva and walking passed her towards a stall._

" _Uh huh," Minerva said with a smile._

" _I know that tone and I don't appreciate it. I don't like what you're implying."_

" _I'm not implying anything."_

" _Of course not."_

 _They did their business and then walked over to the sinks to wash their hands._

" _What do you think of him?" Minerva asked._

" _Jay? He seems wonderful," Amelia said with a smile. "You are a very lucky woman."_

" _I am but you know that's not what I'm talking about," Minerva said with a laugh. "Raj. What do you think of him?"_

 _Amelia shrugged. "It doesn't matter what I think of him. It matters what you do. He's Jay's friend after all."_

" _Well, I think he's quite nice," she said. "And I think you like him."_

" _And I think you're crazy," Amelia said with a roll of her eyes. She grabbed some paper towel and headed for the door._

 _Minerva laughed and followed after her. They walked back to their table where they ordered some dessert and talked some more._

 _When the night came to a close, Jay and Minerva shook both Raj and Amelia's hands, said goodbyes and parted ways._

" _Will you stay the night at Rochester?" Jay asked Minerva as they walked down the street away from the restaurant to find an alleyway to Apparate in._

" _Of course," she said. "I liked Raj. He's very nice and quite charming."_

 _Jay smiled. "I'm glad you like him. We've know each other for a long time now. Not as long as you and Amelia but still quite a long time," he said. "Amelia is very nice as well. I don't think I've ever met a kinder person."_

" _I'm glad you liked her too," she said. "I can't wait for her to meet Daniel. She's excited to meet him and I think he'll love her too."_

" _I'm sure he will," Jay said with a smile. He looked at his watch and shook his head. "I'll bet he's still up waiting for us."_

" _I'm not stupid enough to take that bet."_

 _Jay smiled. They slipped into an alley and Apparated back to Collins Mansion in Rochester. Christie answered the door for them and, to no one's surprise, Daniel was still awake. He asked them how their dinner went excitedly. It took them sometime but they were finally able to coax him into bed before going to Jay's room and getting into bed themselves._

* * *

 _ **Friday, January 2nd 1998**_

"Welcome back," Raj said, opening the door and letting everyone into the house.

"Hey, Uncle Raj," Daniel said, carrying his and Nina's bags into the house. Raj took one of them from him. "When did you get in?"

"Earlier today," he said, putting the bag down on the floor and taking Lucy's from Nina. "Maria sent groceries over as well so I put those away for you."

"Great, thank you," Daniel said, taking off his shoes and coat.

Lucy and Minerva came in next. Lucy smiled and raced over to her uncle when she saw him. "Uncle Raj! Uncle Raj!"

"Hello, Princess," Raj said happily, picking her up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How are you? How was your trip?"

"It was good," Lucy said. "We got to see my _nani_ and my aunts and uncles and my cousins. We played in the snow and we got presents and we stayed up to see the fireworks on New Year's Eve!"

"That sounds lovely," Raj said with a smile, putting Lucy down so she could take off her shoes and coat. He looked over at Minerva. "Minerva."

"Raj," Minerva said. "Happy New Year."

"To you too," he said. He reached down and tousled Lucy's hair a bit. "I hope this one was well-behaved through the flight."

"She was lovely, of course," Minerva said, putting her coat away in the closet. She went to take her bag upstairs but Raj stopped her.

"Allow me," he said, taking the bag from her. He picked Lucy's up as well and headed up the stairs. "Daniel, you'll bring the others?"

"Yep," Daniel said, picking up his and Nina's bags again and taking Lucy's backpack from her. He followed Raj up the stairs to his own bedroom.

"Well, I'm tired," Nina said with a yawn. "I could use a nap. What do you say, Lucy?"

"Naps are for babies."

"Really?" Nina asked with a laugh as she headed towards the living room. Lucy followed after her and Minerva smiled.

They sat down in the living room and Nina kicked her legs up on the couch, trapping Lucy under her. Lucy tried to push them away but Nina kept them down on her. Lucy laughed.

"Stop!" Lucy said with a laugh, trying to get out from under her legs. Nina laughed and pushed down against her harder.

Minerva shook her head. "You two are ridiculous."

Just then Daniel and Raj walked back into the room. Raj sat down in an armchair beside Minerva and Daniel walked over to the couch to sit down with Lucy and Nina. He saw Lucy sitting with Nina's legs over her lap and raised an eyebrow at Nina.

"I want to sit," he said. "Are you going to move?"

"Nope," Nina said. "Go sit somewhere else. I'm laying here."

"Daniel, help me!" Lucy said, struggling against Nina's legs again. "I'm trapped!"

Daniel laughed and waved his hand at her dismissively. He sat down on the floor in front of Nina's head instead. "Sorry, kid," he said. "Nothing I can do for you."

Nina laughed and Lucy managed to get one arm free. She banged her fist on Nina's leg but Nina didn't move much.

"Uncle Raj!" Lucy called.

"Just stop fighting, love," Raj said with a laugh. "Relax, it'll be easier."

"Are you trying to teach my daughter to give up?" Minerva asked, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow.

Raj rolled his eyes but smiled. "No," he said. "Stop fighting and think about it."

Lucy stopped struggling and thought about it like Raj said. She got an idea, reached over and tickled the bottom of Nina's foot. Nina flinched and Lucy slid free.

"Yay!" she cheered, running towards her uncle. "I did it! I got out all by myself!"

Nina shook her head and gave her a playful glare. She turned over and started running her fingers through Daniel's hair instead. Daniel looked up and smiled at her. Raj pulled Lucy onto his lap. He tousled her hair and she hugged him.

"So, how are Isobel and the others?" he asked, looking over at Daniel.

"Good, they're good," Daniel said. "She was in Germany. Just got back a little while ago. We had fun with everyone and Nina really liked them."

"Yes, they were very nice," Nina said with a smile. She looked over at Minerva. "Thank you again for letting me come along."

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile. "I wouldn't say I -"

Just then the doorbell rang, cutting Minerva off. Lucy looked up excitedly and slid off of Raj's lap. She raced towards the door. "I'll get it! I'll get it!"

"I wonder who that could be," Raj said.

"I'll go take a look," Minerva said before he could get up. She got up and walked towards the entrance hall where Lucy was opening the door. Lucy opened it only a crack and looked outside. Her eyes widened but Minerva couldn't see who it was.

In the doorway stood a woman with brown hair tied up in a sophisticated updo and a long black coat on. She had brown eyes and a soft face and looked exactly the same as she had two years ago. Lucy stared at her for a long time and Amelia Bones gave her a small smile.

"Who's there, Lucy?" Minerva asked with a frown. Lucy didn't say anything. She kept staring at Amelia.

"Hello, Lucy," Amelia said. "May I come in?"

Lucy finally regained movement. She took a step back and pulled the door open further. Amelia walked in and Lucy closed the door behind her. Amelia looked around and saw Minerva. She gave her a small smile and Minerva smiled back.

"Hello, Amelia," she said, walking over.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, giving Minerva a hug.

"I'm okay," Minerva said. "You don't have to worry about me."

They pulled away and Amelia took off her coat. Minerva took it from her and Amelia kneeled down in front of Lucy. Lucy kept staring at her with wide eyes. Amelia smiled a little and took her hands.

"How are you doing, my love?" Amelia asked.

Lucy shrugged.

"You remember who I am, right?"

Lucy nodded. "I called you."

"You did."

"You gave me my doll, Rin."

"I did."

"Amelia's actually your godmother," Minerva said with a small smile.

Lucy looked at Amelia for a second before letting go of her hands, moving closer, and wrapping her arms around her neck. Amelia smiled a little and wrapped her arms around her. Minerva watched them and smiled too.

"Aunty Amelia," Lucy whispered. "Please don't leave for that long ever again."

"I won't, love, I won't," Amelia said.

Just then Raj walked out of the living room. "Who was at the - oh." He stopped in his tracks to see Amelia on the floor with Lucy. "Hi..."

Amelia looked up and smiled at Raj. She stood up properly, Lucy still close to her, hugging her legs. "Hello, Raj," she said. "It's been a while."

"It has," Raj said with a frown.

There was a pause. The silence felt heavy. Lucy looked up from her aunt to her uncle and then to her mother. Minerva sighed and stuck out her hand for her.

"Come on, let's go sit in the living room," she said. Lucy nodded and ran over to her, taking her hand. Minerva looked at Raj and Amelia. "Shall we?"

Amelia nodded and followed after her. Raj waited for them to walk past him before walking behind them into the room. Daniel and Nina looked up from the couch.

"Daniel," Amelia said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Amelia, hello," he said, standing up. "I'm okay."

"Please sit. You don't have to get up for me," she said, trying to play off the hurt she felt for him not calling her _Aunt_ Amelia. She looked at Nina and gave her a little smile. "Hello, I'm Amelia Bones."

"Hi, Nina Chaudhry," Nina said with a small smile, reaching out her hand towards Amelia. "It's nice to meet you."

Amelia shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well, Miss Chaudhry."

"Please, call me Nina," she said.

"Nina's my girlfriend," Daniel said. "Please sit."

Amelia sat down in the armchair Minerva had been sitting on and Raj moved over to the couch, leaving his seat for Minerva. Lucy let go of Minerva's hand and ran over to sit down with her uncle. Raj pulled her up into his lap.

"I heard what happened and I wanted to come over as soon as possible but Minerva told me that you all were going up to Castletown for the holidays so I decided to wait and give you time," Amelia said. "I'm very sorry. To all of you. For what happened. For not being here. I should have made it easier for you to contact me and I am sorry that I did not do that."

"Ah, how about I get us all some tea?" Nina said, getting up quickly. She didn't wait for a response from anyone, walking briskly out towards the kitchen. She left and everyone sat in silence for a while.

Eventually conversation started. It was awkward at first. Short sentences, awkward pauses, silent shared looks. Nina came back and handed out tea. She had brought juice for Lucy as well. She sat down, tension still thick in the air.

Then it got better. It became easier, more natural, less laggy. And it only got better from there. Suddenly there were smiles and laughter. There were jokes, old stories and new ones. The years of absence forgiven, yet not completely forgotten yet. Amelia knew that and she didn't fault them for it. She understood it would take time.

They moved into the dining room for dinner and then back to the living room for drinks. Somewhere in the middle, Amelia was convinced to stay the night. Slowly people left for their bedrooms. Lucy first, complain the whole way as Nina dragged her up the stairs. Daniel and Nina left next. Then Raj and then finally Minerva convinced Amelia to go up too. She showed her to her bedroom and gave her some clothes to change into. Minerva left and Amelia sat on the bed for a while before deciding to get up and get some water. She made her way down to the kitchen and poured herself a glass.

"You're up late."

Amelia turned to see Raj standing in the doorway. She gave him a small smile. "I could say the same to you."

He shrugged as he walked into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. "They have quite the collection, you know," he said, pulling out a bottle. He showed her the malt whisky, same kind they drank when the four of them went out. "I don't touch the expensive stuff. Don't feel right about it but I do indulge myself every once in a while."

He pulled out a glass and poured some scotch into it. He held it out to her. Amelia shook her head. "I really shouldn't."

"Come on," he said, pushing it closer to her a little bit. "Daniel won't mind and I will replace it."

Amelia sighed and took the glass from him. "You've done a lot for those children, Raj," she said. "I am very impressed."

He shrugged as he pulled out another glass and poured himself a drink.

"Some could easily think that they were your own."

"They've always been my children," he said, looking back at her. "I'm their godfather after all."

"It's a terrible thing," Amelia said, choosing to ignore his jab. "Jay was a great man and I know you loved him. I'm very sorry for your loss."

"He was," Raj said with a sigh. "He's what motivates me to do all this. He was an amazing man and if the tables had been reversed I know he would not have hesitated in doing the same."

Amelia nodded though she didn't say anything. She leaned back against the counter and he looked down at the bottle on the counter.

"Besides," he said, "they do as much for me as I do for them, if not more. If it wasn't for Lucy and Daniel I would have problems getting up out of bed every morning too."

"Minerva didn't leave her room for days after she found out," Amelia said. "I'm glad she has you all now. You all motivate her to get up too."

Raj didn't say anything. She had trouble did she? Didn't leave her room? How unfortunate for her. Raj did not have time to waste on feeling sorry for Minerva McGonagall. He had more important things, people, to worry about.

Amelia sighed. "Minerva told me about the custody issue," she said. "She was very upset. Furious at you for even suggesting such a thing."

"You were a lawyer," he said suddenly, turning and looking at her. "How easy would it have been for her to take Lucy away from us if she had wanted to?"

"She wouldn't -"

"If she had wanted to."

Again Amelia sighed. "Very easy."

"I thought I knew her. A couple years ago I would never have dared suggested it but now I realize that I don't know her. I know very little about her so I just wanted to cover all my bases," he said, looking away again. "I wanted to make sure that Lucy stayed here with Daniel. That is all."

"I understand," she said. "Though, she didn't sign it and now we're here. Lucy's here. Doesn't that mean something? Doesn't that show you something?"

"It's only been about two week," he said. "Things don't change in only two weeks. It takes much more time than that. I'll see when her _work_ actually starts up again."

"And when it does and she comes home every night," Amelia said, "will you forgive her?"

Raj doesn't say anything.

"Daniel and Lucy have."

"Of course they have," Raj said. "They're her children. They love her and when you love someone you forgive them, even if what they did was shitty. I know all about forgiving your parent because they are your parent, Amelia."

"Of course, I'm sorry. I never -"

"They forgive her. It's not my job to tell them not too. I never tried to interfere with that," he said. "My job is simply to protect them. That's all I'm trying to do. That's all I ever tried to do."

Amelia sighed and looked down. "Okay," she said. "You don't forgive her. I can understand that. I do hope that eventually you'll change your mind though."

"Do you know what excuse she told Daniel?"

She didn't respond.

" _Work_. She said she had to leave for work," he said. "Two years, Amelia. She left her children, her husband, for two years without so much as a phone call for two years because of _work_. What kind of work could a teacher have that would require her not to speak to her family for two years?"

Amelia didn't say anything again.

Raj looked over at her again suddenly. "What's the real reason?" he asked. "What's the reason she gave you to make you and Isobel and the others leave Lucy and Daniel as well?"

"I don't -"

"I know you know."

"I don't know what to tell you Raj," she said. "It was a complicated situation and Minerva needed time. She was busy."

Raj stared at her for a second before shaking his head. "Fine. Don't tell me," he said, looking away again. "What was your reason, then?"

"What?"

"You were gone too, Amelia," he said. "You left too so I want to know what your excuse was. Minerva leaving is one thing but that didn't mean that you and Isobel and the others had to completely abandon them as well."

Amelia sighed. "I can't give you a good reason," she said. "You won't believe it like you don't believe Minerva."

"Try me."

"Lucy and Daniel are Minerva's children. If she asked me not to come see them I have to respect her wishes."

"You're right. I don't believe that," Raj said. "That's a lie. I know it is. You're Amelia Fucking Bones. You don't take shit from anyone, not even her. You loved Lucy and Daniel and you wouldn't have let her tell you not to see them. Neither would Isobel. So I don't understand what could have happened to make both of you change your mind."

"That's the best answer I can give you right now," she said.

He looked her up and down before looking away again and pouring himself another drink. "Very diplomatic of you."

"I work in government," Amelia said. "I suppose I've picked up some things."

He shook his head. "Always been the diplomat," he mumbled. "You would do well in politics."

There was another pause. They stood there in silence, sipping their drinks.

"Raj," Amelia said finally breaking the silence. She set down her glass in the sink so he wouldn't pour her another. "Things are stressful right now. That's why you've been drinking more, right?"

"Only when they're asleep."

"Of course," she said. "You've done so much, Raj, but now you can finally relax a little bit. You can share some of the work with Minerva. Working together will be so much easier than being at odds."

"We're not at odds."

"But you're not working together."

Raj sighed and shook his head. He put the top back on the bottle and put it away. He dumped the rest of his drink in the sink and set his glass down in it as well.

"Go to bed, Amelia. It's late."

With that he headed out of the room and up the stairs. Amelia sighed. She turned back to the sink and turned it on. She cleaned the glasses, dried them, and put them away. After that was done she headed up the stairs. She walked over to her bedroom, opened the door and was about to go in when she heard a click from a door a little ways down the hall. She looked over to see Lucy's door open and her look out a little.

"Lucy?"

Lucy froze and looked up at her aunt. Amelia saw the tears in her eyes and immediately walked over. She kneeled down in front of her.

"What's wrong, darling?"

Lucy rubbed her eyes with her hands and took a couple deep breaths before whispering, "I - I had a bad dream."

"Oh, darling, it's okay," she said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lucy shook her head quickly.

"Sometimes it helps."

Lucy shook her head again.

"Alright, well, where were you headed?"

Lucy pointed to a door across the hall. "Daniel and Nina's room."

"Oh," Amelia said. "Well, I can stay with you instead if you'd like. That way you won't have to wake them."

Lucy thought about this for a second before nodding a little bit. She walked back into her room and let Amelia in. Amelia walked in and closed the door behind her. She smiled and looked around a little. "Your room's changed since I last saw it."

"It's not a baby room anymore," Lucy said, climbing back into bed. Amelia walked over and sat down beside her. Lucy picked up the blankets and looked up at her. "Do you want to lay down?"

"Sure," she said with a small smile. She laid down, pulling blankets over herself. Lucy moved a little closer and leaned into Amelia's chest. Amelia put an arm around her. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Lucy sighed. "I have a nightmare every night."

"Every night?"

Lucy nodded. "It's always the same one," she said. "It's about the hospital and my daddy."

"Oh, darling," Amelia whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Lucy whispered. "Daniel said it would go away soon but it's not. I think something's wrong with me."

"No, no," Amelia said, giving her a hug. "Nothing's wrong with you. What you went through was horrible and it's normal to still be having nightmares now. They will go away eventually. "

There was a pause and Amelia heard Lucy sniff a couple times. She heard Lucy's breathing get shaky again and sighed. Before she could say anything, however, Lucy spoke. Her voice was quiet and shaky.

"I miss my daddy so bad," she whispered.

Amelia moved closer and pulled Lucy into a hug. She sobbed into Amelia's chest. Amelia rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the top of her head.

"I know things happened and I know it's still hard but it will get better," she said. "I'm so sorry for everything. I really am and if you need anything, I'm here. I'm here now and I'm not going to leave again."

"I - I'm glad you're back too."

"Me too. I missed you all so much."

"I missed you too."

Lucy yawned and closed her eyes a little. Amelia smiled. She pulled the blanket a little closer and said, "let's get some sleep, sweetheart. I'll be right here if you get scared, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said. "Goodnight, Aunty Amelia."

"Goodnight, Lucy."

...

The next morning Amelia woke up to find herself alone in Lucy's bedroom. She got up and walked out of the room just as Nina was walking out of hers and Daniel's, dressed and ready for the day. Nina smiled at her.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully. "Did you stay with Lucy last night?"

"I did," Amelia said with a nod. "I saw her leaving her room crying so I asked her what was wrong and she said that she had a nightmare."

"Oh, I was wondering why Lucy didn't come over last night. I was hoping she was finally having a peaceful night," Nina said with a sigh. "Thank you for staying with her."

"Of course," Amelia said with a smile. "It's no problem at all."

"Well, I can get you some of Minerva's clothes if you'd like to change and I'm sure I could find a new toothbrush around here somewhere," Nina said. "Just give me a minute."

"Thank you, Nina," Amelia said, heading back to her room so she could wait there.

"Of course," Nina said with a smile. She walked off to grab Amelia's things.

When Nina came back, Amelia got changed and ready for the day. She went downstairs to find everyone sitting there eating breakfast. Nina got up and gave Amelia her chair before pulling a stool over to sit down herself.

A little while after breakfast, Amelia walked into the library. She had always loved this room of Collins Mansion. Shelves lined the walls filled with books. Comfy couches and armchairs sat around the room next to end tables piled high with books. A huge window looking over the back garden let in a lot of natural light. Brown wooden stairs led up to the balcony that wrapped around the whole room. More shelves lined the walls up there. She knew that up the stairs on the very last shelf, hidden away in the furthest corner of the room easily missed by visitors, was their small collection of magic books. Raj must not go up there very much as he had still not found them, it seemed.

Amelia saw Daniel sitting on a couch reading a book. She smiled and walked towards him. "Hello."

Daniel looked up and gave her a smile. "Hey."

"I was just about to head out. Thought I'd say goodbye before I did," she said.

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Daniel asked as she walked over and sat down in an armchair.

"Yes, I have a lot of work to attend to back home but before I do, I thought I'd come see you," she said. "We haven't really got the chance to talk. How are you doing, Daniel?"

"I'm okay," he said with a little shrug.

"It's a lot, I know. Things have changed so much in such a short period of time," she said quietly, leaning back in her chair. "I know Lucy's having a little bit of trouble with things so I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay."

He smiled a little and nodded. "Yes, I'm okay," he said. He closed his book and put it down beside him. "A lot has changed and sometimes it is pretty hard to wrap my head around it if I think about it too much. It's just so complicated... but I'm okay. I try to be. For Lucy."

"You been so good to her, Daniel. I'm very proud of you."

Daniel shrugged again. "She's my sister. I'm just doing what older brothers are supposed to do," he said. "Nothing special."

"No, you're doing much more," Amelia said. "And I know Lucy really appreciates it."

"She's a good kid," he said. "Helps me out just as much as I help her, really."

"You two are great for each other," she said with a smile. "And that Nina's really something. I approve. Not that you need my approval, of course."

Daniel laughed. "I'm glad you like her," he said. "She is something. I can't imagine having to go through all this without her."

Amelia smiled. "I'm glad you've found each other."

Daniel nodded. He sighed and looked away. "So… ah," he said a little uncertainly, "this war... how bad has it actually gotten? What's going on? Min's not told me much about it."

Amelia's smile faded away and she sighed. "It's pretty bad, Daniel," she said. "A lot of good people have died. A lot of people are missing. A lot of people have moved into Hogwarts where it's safer."

"Do you think it's safe here?" he asked.

"I do," she said. "There are a lot of enchantments on this house to make sure that you, Lucy, Nina, and Raj stay safe. If anything changes I'm sure Minerva will come up with a way to keep you all safe. I mean if worse comes to worse you could always come up to Hogwarts or go back to Castletown."

He nodded though he didn't like any of those options. He loved his home and he didn't want to leave it.

"You know, this has always been my favourite room in your house," Amelia said.

Daniel smiled a little. "It's Lucy's favourite as well," he said. "I go back and forth. I really like the greenhouse outside."

"The greenhouse is very nice as well," Amelia said with a nod. "The gallery is also really something."

"I think you just like our house in general," Daniel said with a smile.

"Maybe," she said with a small laugh. "I really hope that things can go back to how they were between us, Daniel. I really missed you and Lucy both these past two years. I know that it may take some time and some work on my part but I really do hope that eventually we can get back to having very academic discussions on the intricacies of the Batman universe."

Daniel smiled. "Do you still think Gotham would be better off with billionaire, philanthropist Bruce Wayne than Batman?"

Amelia smiled. He was also trying to go back to how things were too. She was glad that she wasn't the only one who had to put in the effort. "I do," she said. "Bruce Wayne could provide the education and social reform that Gotham needs that Batman just could not provide."

"Though, that would make a worse comic book than a masked vigilante cleaning up the streets," he said with a smile. "Wouldn't it?"

"Of course," she said with a laugh.

They talked about Batman for a while longer before Amelia got up to head home. Before she picked up the notepad and pen sitting by the phone on the side table and wrote down her number.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it easier for you to contact me when I left," she said, ripping the paper out of the notepad and holding it out to him. "I don't want make the same mistake again so here's my number. If you or Lucy or Nina ever need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to call me. No matter what time of day it might be."

Daniel took the paper from her, looked down at the number, and smiled. "Thank you, Amelia," he said. "Thank you for coming by. We really missed you and I'm sure that Uncle Raj will come around too. I think he still likes you, you know."

Amelia rolled her eyes. She blamed Minerva. It was her fault that her stepson thought this way. She was filling his head with ridiculous ideas. "I don't think so, Daniel," she said, giving him a look, "and when I said get back to how things were this was not what I meant. I don't need you or Minerva to hound me about feelings neither of us have for each other."

"Uh huh," Daniel said with an annoying smile. "Whatever you say."

Amelia rolled her eyes. She reached up and smacked him lightly on the cheek making him laugh. "You have not changed a bit," she said. She turned and walked towards the library doors. "Goodbye, Daniel. I'll come by again next weekend. Try not to burn down the house while I'm gone. It would be a shame for such a lovely house to go up in flames."

Daniel laughed, sat back down on the couch, and picked up his book. "Goodbye, Amelia," he said. "I'll try my best."


	6. TLT -- 6

_**Monday, January 5th 1998**_

Things were escalating. The war kept getting worse. Minerva had woken up this morning to news that Arnold Hastert and his wife Rolanda had been killed by Death Eaters. They had both been very active members of the Order and had done a lot of good in the Wizarding World. Minerva put her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ away in her bedside table and got ready for the day. She did he best to cover up the dark eye circles. Sleep did not come easy when war raged outside. Minerva had been having horrible nightmares of Collins Mansion being overrun by Death Eaters and You-Know-Who himself.

Minerva walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to find Lucy half asleep in her cereal. She smiled a little and sat down beside her. "Alright, love?"

"Yeah," Lucy said with a yawn. "I don't want to go back to school."

"I know," Minerva said as she picked up a piece of toast and started buttering it. "You've been complaining about it for the past few days."

"She wasted most of her break dreading school starting again," Daniel said, coming into the kitchen with his backpack in his hands. He looked out the door and called, "Nina, let's go! You won't get breakfast if you take too much longer!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Nina called as she raced down the stairs towards the kitchen.

Raj came down behind her. "I already don't have time for breakfast," he said, coming into the kitchen with his briefcase. He walked over to the table and kissed the top of Lucy's head. "Have a nice day at school, Princess. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Uncle Raj," Lucy said.

"Grab a piece of toast on your way out, Raj," Minerva said, holding up the plate towards him so he could grab one. He did, said one last goodbye to all of them, and then ran towards the door. Minerva set the plate back down as Nina came over and sat down at the table as well. "If he woke up on time he would get to actually sit down and eat with us."

"He's always in a rush," Daniel said, picking up a carton of milk and pouring it into his cereal bowl. "Lucy, remember you have ballet today so get off at the right bus stop. Nina will pick you up after class."

"Okay," Lucy said.

"You have your ballet things, right love?" Nina asked.

"Yep."

"Okay, good," Nina said.

They ate their breakfast and then Daniel, Lucy, and Nina headed out. Minerva left a little while later, walking down the drive and Apparating just outside the gates. She arrived on the outskirts of the Hogwarts grounds and walked up to the castle.

Classes began and dragged on endlessly. Their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was nowhere to be found so each professor gave up one of their free periods to teach a Defence class. Minerva got the fourth years right after lunch and was forced to go through the Unforgivable Curses with them. The class was all theoretical thankfully, which meant mostly note taking and only one actual demonstration. Minerva did not feel comfortable demonstrating on a spider but she did it for the sake of the student's education.

After classes ended, she walked up to her office and pulled out some essays she had assigned to begin marking. She hadn't been working for long when she was interrupted by a knocking at her door. She looked up and invited whoever it was inside. The door opened and in walked Albus Dumbledore. His robes swept the ground as he walked and the lack of twinkle in his eyes told Minerva that whatever news he was bringing her could not be good.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"Bernice Elfer is dead," he said sadly, closing the office door behind him and walking over to her desk. "When she didn't come into work today I had some Aurors go sweep her house. She and her entire family were killed by Death Eaters. They lived far from any other cities, surrounded by trees so no one noticed the Dark Mark in the sky."

Minerva put down her quill and leaned back in her seat. That was another Hogwarts professor slaughtered. She felt the tears overflow on her cheeks once again and hid her face behind her hands. Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair as well.

"Unfortunately that's not the only news I bring today," he said.

Minerva looked up quickly. "You can't be serious," she said, wiping her cheeks with her hands and looking up at him with a scared expression on her face. "Who else?"

"Darren Pettigrew."

"Oh no..." she whispered. "How?"

"Hit by a rogue curse during a raid. We can't be sure if he was killed by a Death Eater or an Order member," he replied sadly.

"It must have been a Death Eater, right? No one on our side would be using that kind of curse, right?" she replied. He doesn't respond. "Albus... it... it had to have been, right?"

"I don't know. Minerva," he replied, looking away. Suddenly Minerva knew the answer now too. He was protecting whoever it was that threw the curse and she didn't care. She didn't want to know who it was. She was happier not knowing.

"Does Peter know yet?" she asked instead. She thought of the young nineteen year old and a fresh wave of tears filled her eyes.

Dumbledore nodded. "He is with his mother right now," he said. "The Potters and the others are there now too."

"That poor boy," she whispered, shaking her head. She knew that Peter and his father had always been quite close. "I'll go see him and Candice later today. Maybe... maybe I can help in some way."

He nodded again and finally looked back at her. "We must find a new Defence Professor," he said. "We need someone to take Darren's place on the Hogsmeade patrol and we also need to make more arrangements for the new families that have arrived. Fifteen came today seeking refuge."

"Fifteen!" Minerva exclaimed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Things are escalating," he said. "More villages are being raided, more people displaced, and other countries have yet to begin taking as many refugees as they should be."

"Alright, well, Pomona can handle those arrangements. Space is not an issue yet and if it becomes one we will start outfitting unused classrooms," she continued briskly. She could talk business. It helped her forget. "I'll send word around the Order, hopefully someone will volunteer to take Darren's place. If not, we can assign someone. As for Defence, we can ask some of the refugees. One of them may be willing to lend a hand."

"That is a good idea," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Everyone will take a class tomorrow, the same as they did today. I'll conduct interviews that evening and whoever is best qualified can start on Wednesday. We'll need -"

"I'll send some owls to the Ministry and have the documents drafted," Minerva said. "I'll have them make it the contract for just the end of this year."

"We will get an actual professor then," he said with a nod. "Another thing -"

"What now?" Minerva said with a sigh.

"I fear with this escalation that the target on Hogwarts professors and their families have grown," he said. "Bernice's manor sat in the middle of a forest. They had a lot of protections and yet they were still found. I worry that Collins Mansion may not be as safe as it once was and you going back and forth as you are now will only increase the risk. Have you considered bringing Daniel and Lucy to Hogwarts as well? They will be safer here and you will be able to stay here full time to help with Order and Hogwarts business."

"Is this about their safety or my now limited schedule?" Minerva asked with a frown.

"Both," he replied honestly. "You are more useful here than you are in Rochester. Especially when Raj's presence makes it hard for you to use magic. Moving to Hogwarts would not only mend this issue but would also keep the children safer."

"It's complicated," Minerva said with a sigh. "I would love to bring them here. I agree that they would be safer at Hogwarts but they both have commitments in the Muggle world that neither would be very happy breaking. They would both be leaving their studies for god knows how long and... to be completely honest, they both need a little consistency right now. So much has changed just in the last few weeks for them, staying in Rochester will be more conducive to their recovery than leaving it would. Especially for Lucy."

Dumbledore sighed but nodded. "And you will want to go home every night then as well."

"At least for now," Minerva said with a nod. "They both need to see that I am here to stay and I will not be leaving again."

He nodded again. "Well," he said, "we should look into other options for keeping them safe. I do believe that Collins Mansion is no longer as safe as it should be but if you would still prefer to stay there then we should see what else we can do to make it safer."

"What else can we do?" Minerva asked. "We've already put every enchantment possible on it without making it unplottable."

"I can have Order members patrol the house every so often, just in case," he said. "They will be able to make sure that nothing suspicious is going on."

"Can we expend the wandpower?" Minerva asked.

"I believe we can," Dumbledore said with a nod. "I'm sure James and Sirius would be up for the task. I have not given them a task together in sometime and I'm sure Lily will be happy James isn't doing anything too dangerous now with the baby coming and all."

"You make sure those boys know that they're not supposed to be seen by Lucy or Raj either," Minerva said. "I don't want Lucy to worry and it would be quite hard to explain to Raj what two strange boys are doing on the property. Daniel and Nina know about the war and I can let them know that James and Sirius will be there but Lucy doesn't. She knows something is going on but she doesn't understand what. I don't want her to worry."

"Of course," he replied.

"Oh and make sure they take this seriously," Minerva said with a frown. "I don't want their funny business around at such a critical time."

Dumbledore smiled. "They're not children anymore, Minerva," he said. "I'm sure they'll take this seriously."

"I'm just making sure."

"Of course," he said again.

...

The next day, the Collins Mansion gate opened and closed though no one could be seen walking through. Suddenly, James Potter removed his Invisibility Cloak from is and Sirius Black's head and looked up at the mansion.

"So this is McGonagall's house," Sirius whispered, eyes wide as he looked up at the expansive grey stone manor. "Damn, she's loaded. I didn't know teachers make that much money."

"They don't," James said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "I told Lily about that Collins guy that McGonagall married and she said that he was this huge Muggle businessman. A billionaire, apparently."

"Billionaire? Well, she has good taste then, huh?" Sirius replied with a laugh as they begin walking around the perimeter of the house.

"I wish we could go inside. I'd love to see how big the house actually is," James said. "Maybe when the baby comes, Lily and I will move out of that tiny flat and into a huge house like this one."

"Why would you need a house like this for three people?"

"Why would you need it for four? That's all she has in here," James said defensively. "Or five I guess if you count that guy that stays with them every now and then."

"Why does he do that?" Sirius asked. "What's his name? Raj Patil. Why does he stay with them all the time?"

"McGonagall said that he's been helping them since her husband passed away," James said. "It's pretty nice of him. He was friends with McGonagall's husband. Lily said he's pretty high up in the husband's company too."

"I see," Sirius said as he got closer and craned his neck so he could look through a window. He could see into a dark living room. No one was home yet so all the lights inside were off. "They've got a huge TV."

"Well, you can't splurge on the house and then keep shitty stuff inside it," James said with a smile.

"Oh hey, we've met her kid haven't we," Sirius said.

"Yeah when she was like one or two."

"Do you think she remembers us?"

James laughed. "Nah man, she was one and it was so long ago now. Like five, six years. Besides, we're not allowed to let any of them see us."

"Heard the other kid's a Muggle," Sirius said.

"Yeah, her stepson. Not her real son."

"Cool of her to take care of him still."

"Well, I mean, he is her son now. Even if he is just a stepson," James said with a laugh.

Sirius shrugs. "Not something someone like my mum would do."

James gives him a half smile. "Sorry, I didn't think -"

"Gates opening," Sirius said suddenly. James quickly pulled the Invisibility cloak out again and tossed it on top of the both of them. They walked around to the front and waited to see who came through the gate.

"It's just a car," James whispered as a sleek black car came in through the gate and up the driveway. "I don't think Death Eaters drive."

"Should we follow them inside?" Sirius asked, giving James a mischievous smile. "Get that look around the inside like you wanted."

"I don't think that's a good idea," James said with a laugh, though they walk closer to the front door.

"- and then when she looked up there was a giant plastic spider on her desk and she completely freaked out!" Lucy told Nina as they get out of the car and start walking to the front door.

Nina laughed. "What did she do?"

"She screamed and flung it across the room with a piece of paper," Lucy replied with a laugh. "I've never seen anyone that scared before! The teacher was so mad! He told her that that was an overreaction and that she needed to pick up the plastic spider and apologize!"

"Did they find out it was you and Anne who pulled the prank?"

"Nope!" Lucy said excitedly. "Nobody knows."

"Wow, Lucy," Nina said with a smile and a shake of her head. They reached the front door and she pulled out her key. She unlocked the door and opened it for Lucy to go in. She was about to go in too when the keys slipped out of her hands. "Oops."

As she reached for them, door still wide open, Sirius grabbed James's arm and pulled him through the open door. James tried to stop him and pull him back outside but before he could Nina had walked through the door and closed it behind her. He gave Sirius an angry look but Sirius just smiled.

"Alright," Nina said as she took off her shoes and coat. "You go get changed and I'll find something for us to eat."

"Okay," Lucy said. "What are we going to have for dinner tonight?"

"Hmm, I was thinking we could just order a pizza or something," Nina said. "I don't really feel like cooking but we'll see what Uncle Raj, Minerva and Daniel think first."

"Okay," Lucy said again before running up the stairs. Nina walks through an archway to the kitchen.

"Now what, you idiot!" James whispered.

"We could follow one of them and pretend to be a ghost," Sirius said with a laugh. "That'd be fun."

"Come on, we're going back outside," James said. "How are we supposed to guard the house if we're inside?"

"Aw, come on. Can't we at least take a look around first?" Sirius asked. "I want to find Minerva's room."

"Since when do you call her Minerva?"

"Well, I mean if that kid can call her Minerva I think I can too."

"I think I'll just keep calling her Professor McGonagall," James mumbled. "Minerva feels weird."

Sirius laughed. He led James up the stairs. They looked at the pictures on the walls and the décor.

"It's a nice house on the inside too," James whispered. "But it's so big, how are we going to find McGonagall's room?"

"Trial and error?" Sirius suggested.

"Without letting anyone know we're here?"

"Very quiet trial and error?"

James rolled his eyes. He walked with Sirius towards the first door. Before Sirius could open it though, James stops him. "We should wait till Lucy goes downstairs," he said. "She's probably in one of these rooms and it'll probably scare her if the door to her room opens randomly out of nowhere."

"Good call," Sirius said. "See this is why you're the smart one."

"If I was smart I wouldn't have let you talk me into being in here in the first place," James mumbled with a shake of his head.

Sirius smiled. "Hey, you know you love it."

"I wish Remus was here. He's the real smart one," James smiled. "I'm just trying to be a little more serious, Sirius."

"Serious is not a good look on you, James," Sirius replied with a smile. "You should leave it to me."

James shook his head though he was still smiling. "I'm just saying that with everything going on we should really think about putting our goofy sides on hold for a bit," he said with a sigh. "At least until after the war is over, you know. I mean what if we're goofing off up here while Death Eaters are on their way to capture these people to get to McGonagall and Dumbledore."

"I guess you're right," Sirius conceded. "I mean, what if McGonagall comes and finds us here herself! I'm a lot more scared of her then of Death Eaters."

"Well, I guess that's something," James said with a laugh. "So we should go, right?"

"Yes, we should find McGonagall's room, look around a bit and then go and put our goofy sides on hold for a bit," Sirius said.

"Not what I -"

A door opened and Lucy walked out into the hallway. She had changed out of her school uniform and was humming to herself quietly as she walked through the hallway and down the stairs. James and Sirius held their breath as they watched her walk towards the kitchen. When she was finally out of earshot Sirius said, "Well, we know it's definitely not that one."

"Great, we've eliminated one out of like what twenty?"

"I think there's less than twenty rooms," Sirius said with a smile. He moved over to the first door and opened it up. They go through room after room finding guest bedrooms and closets and a bathroom but no master bedroom. Finally they found it on the other side of the hallway across from Lucy's bedroom. "Jackpot!"

"Don't touch anything," James whispered. "I am a hundred percent sure that if something is even a millimetre off she's going to know."

Sirius ignored him, walked out from under the Invisibility cloak into the room and looked around. There wasn't really much to see in the open. McGonagall's room was extremely clean, something Sirius had assumed would be true just by knowing his old teacher. He went to the bedside table. There was a framed family photo sitting on it. He picked it up and showed James, who was also out of the cloak now.

"Cute, huh?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

James rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't be touching that."

"This Jay Collins guy doesn't look that bad. I don't know. He doesn't look how I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know. No one that good looking, I guess."

James laughed and shook his head. "You're an idiot, you know that," he said as Sirius began rummaging through the bedside drawer. "What exactly is it you're looking for?"

"I don't know," Sirius said. He dug through the drawer before finding and pulling out a black leather book. He smiled. "Finally something interesting!"

"Don't read her journal, Sirius!" James said. "I know we're snooping around her bedroom but we have to leave some things private, right?"

"Calm down, Prongs," he said, opening up the book. He read the date on the first page and frowned. "That doesn't look like McGonagall's writing. I should know. I got a lot of detention slips written by her."

"Whose is it then?" James asked, moving over so he could get a better look. "And why does she have it?"

"I don't know," he said. "Look there's a drawing of a little boy. You think that's Daniel?"

Sirius turned it so James could see the drawing of a little eight year old boy playing the piano. "I don't know," he said. "Hard to tell. I don't know what Daniel looked like then."

Sirius flipped through some more pages before smiling and turning it around again. James saw four drawings of Minerva's head, each with a different expression. One was looking away with her fingers going through her hair, another looked very deep in thought, another with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face, and the last one was laughing.

" _July fourth 1987_ ," James read aloud. " _A dreary day that only felt like it was going to get drearier. With Daniel tucked away in bed at the hotel I decide to go across the street for a drink. Nothing special, just a quiet bar with bad lighting and worse food. I did not expect much but when I opened the door, I immediately locked eyes with the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Minerva McGonagall, she said, a teacher, no kids, married once before. Her blue eyes, her silky hair, her red lips, they were all perfect, but the most beautiful thing about her was the way she wore loss. We've both known loss but, while I hide it deep under the skin, she wore it out in the open and she made it beautiful._ "

"Wow," Sirius whispered. "This must have been her husband's journal."

"He really loved her," James said, taking the book from him and flipping through some more pages. Sirius came up beside him so he could see as well. They saw a sketch of Minerva in a wedding dress. _August 4th, 1989_ was written on the top of the page. Jay had written all about the wedding. On the next page he had drawn a picture of his son, ten years old, in a nice suit holding rings.

"He was quite the artist," Sirius said.

"He was," James said. "Look. That must be Lucy."

Jay had drawn a baby crawling after a cat. The baby looked very happy.

"That's cute," Sirius said with a laugh. "Lucy used to play with her mum in cat form."

They looked at a couple more pictures before James closed the book and handed it back to Sirius. Sirius put it back in the drawer and opened the next one to see what was in there. James sat down on the bed with a sigh. Jay Collins seemed like a really nice man and a great father. It must have been very hard on all of them to lose him.

"Gross! Condoms!"

James looked up at his friend and laughed. "Well she had a kid. That means she had to do it at least once."

"Gross," Sirius said. "I don't want to think about that." He closed the drawer and stood up again. "Hmm... Oh I know, the medicine cabinet!"

James sighed and walked over to the window overlooking the front yard while Sirius made his way to the bathroom. He looked over the yard and saw nothing but snow. He wondered when Minerva was planning on coming home. He thought about how hard it must be to leave your children home alone while you dealt with a war they wouldn't understand. He hoped that the war would be over soon so that he wouldn't have to worry about that kind of thing once his baby was born.

"Nothing embarrassing in the medicine cabinet," Sirius said coming back into the room. "But there was a bunch of men's clothes in the closet."

"Probably her husband's," James said, turning around and looking at Sirius. "They probably haven't had a chance to get rid of it yet."

"When did he die?" Sirius asked.

"A month ago, I think."

"Sucks, man."

"Yeah," James said. "We should probably get out of here."

Sirius agreed and walked over to him so they could both get back under the Invisibility Cloak. They slowly opened the bedroom door and looked around quickly to make sure no one was there before moving out into the hallway and closing the door behind them. They slowly and quietly walk down the hallway and down the stairs but before they reached the bottom, the front door opened and they froze. In walked a tall man with darker skin and brown eye. James assumed this was Raj Patil. They heard footsteps running in from the kitchen. Lucy came out and raced over to him.

"Uncle Raj! Uncle Raj!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Hello, Princess," Raj said with a smile, picking her up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How was your day at school?"

"It was okay," she said. "How come you're home so early?"

"I got off early, can you believe that?" he said with a laugh. "That barely ever happens."

"Yeah!" Lucy said. "You beat Daniel and Mum home!"

Raj smiled. "Well, why don't we celebrate by playing out in the snow outside? What do you think?"

"Okay!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Let me go get changed first and put this stuff away and then we'll go," he said, setting her down.

She nodded and he went to walk up the stairs. James pulled Sirius up against the handrail quickly before Raj could bump into one of them. Once he went by Sirius and James slowly began walking down the stairs again. They waited for Lucy to leave so they could get out of the house but she was putting on her coat now.

"She's not leaving!" Sirius whispered.

"Shh."

"Nina! Uncle Raj and I are going to play outside!" Lucy called towards the kitchen as she sat down and pulled her boots on.

"Okay, love," Nina called back. "Don't forget to put on your hat and mittens!"

James slowly came down the last step and moved away from the stairs. It was too dangerous for them to wait there when Raj was going to be coming down soon.

"Okay!" Lucy yelled, picking up her hat and putting it on top of her head.

"James, what are we going to -"

James quickly covered Sirius's mouth as Lucy turned towards them quickly. She looked around but saw nothing. Lucy frowned and walked forward a little. James and Sirius walked backwards away from her.

"Hello?" she asked. "Daniel, are you here? Are you trying to play a trick on me?"

James and Sirius held their breath as she walked even closer to them. They were up against the wall now with nowhere to go. Before Lucy could touch them though, Raj came down the stairs again and looked over at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," Lucy said, running back over to him. "I think I'm hearing things."

Raj smiled. "You think that house is haunted?"

"It's the ghost of that used to live under my bed!" Lucy exclaimed dramatically making Raj laugh. She smiled and shook her head. "No, he still lives under my bed. He's a nice ghost though."

"Is he?" Raj asked as he put on his coat. He handed Lucy her mittens and she put them on.

"Yes," Lucy said with a nod. "I named him Boo. He's a little kid ghost."

"I see," Raj said with a smile, putting on his shoes and opening the door. "Shall we go?"

Lucy nodded and walked out into the cold outside. Raj smiled and followed after her. When the door closed James smacked Sirius's arm.

"You're an idiot," he said quietly as he walked back towards the door. "We'll wait a few minutes for them to walk around to the back and then go."

Sirius nodded. He smiled stupidly and said, "that was pretty fun, though. You have to admit."

James rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You're hopeless."

They waited a little while and then James opened the door quietly. He looked around and saw nothing so led Sirius out of the house and closed the door gently behind them. They walked down the steps and start walking around the house when they see the gate open again and another car come in. The car pulled up to the front of the house and this time Minerva and Daniel got out. They waited by the door for Daniel and Minerva to walk by up the steps.

"Pssst."

Minerva turned back with a frown and Daniel stopped walking too. He looked at her with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I - oh, James, Sirius, is that you?" she said a little exasperatedly.

Sirius took the Invisibility Cloak off the top of his head while still keeping it over his body to make it look like his head was floating in space. Daniel's eyes went wide before he laughed.

"Wow!" he said, walking back down the steps again and standing beside his stepmother.

"Sirius Black," he said, sticking his hand out of the cloak too so now he was a floating head and hand.

"Daniel Collins," Daniel said with a smile, shaking Sirius's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

James comes out of the cloak as well and smiled at Daniel. "James Potter," he said. "It's nice to finally meet you, Daniel."

"It's nice to finally meet you both as well," Daniel said. "I've just heard a lot of complaining about you."

"Really?" James said with a laugh.

"Ahh, you complained about us to your family, Professor?" Sirius said. "I feel so honoured!"

"What are you two doing?" Minerva said with a frown. "You're supposed to be guarding the house and keeping an eye on the others. Not talking to us."

"We are watching out for everyone," James said. "Nina's in the kitchen and Lucy and Mr. Patil are playing in the backyard."

"Uncle Raj is home already?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, said he got off work early," Sirius said.

Minerva didn't like that James and Sirius could hear everything that went on in the house from out here. So much for her and her family's privacy. She supposed she had to give up some if it in order to keep them safe.

"Well," she said, "you should be careful then if they're outside. They might hear you or see you. You're not supposed to be seen, remember?"

"We'll be careful, don't worry," James said.

"How come Mr. Patil doesn't know about magic but everyone else does?" Sirius asked.

"That is not your concern," Minerva said, turning around and walking back up towards the door. "Get back under the cloak and be careful. Don't blow your cover on the very first day."

Daniel looked up at Minerva and then back at the boys with a smile. "Thanks for doing this," he said. "I appreciate you keeping us safe."

"Of course," James said with a smile. "We'd do anything for our favourite teacher and her family."

"Do you think Lucy remembers us?" Sirius asked.

"I don't think so," Daniel said with a shake of his head. "She was pretty young when you guys met. She still has that cat that you gave her though."

"Really?" Sirius asked brightly. "That's awesome!"

"Yeah," Daniel said. "Well, I should get going. Thanks again."

"No problemo," Sirius said.

"See you, Daniel," James said.

They got back under the cloak and watched Daniel disappear inside. Sirius turned back to James. "He's really nice."

"He is," James said. "Now, come on. Let's get serious."

"But I'm right here," Sirius said annoyingly.

James sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

Back inside Daniel took his coat and shoes off and looked over at Minerva who had been waiting for him. She was looking out the window to make sure James and Sirius were back under the Invisibility Cloak.

"They seem nice," he said. "Don't know why you're complaint about them all the time."

"You'll learn soon enough, I'm sure," Minerva muttered, fixing the curtain and turning around.

Daniel laughed and shook his head. "They did bring up a good point though," he said. "Why don't we just tell Uncle Raj about magic? You know how much easier that would make our lives? Then he'd actually understand why you were gone for so long and you guys wouldn't be so awkward around each other anymore."

"We aren't awkward around each other," Minerva said with a frown.

"Sure," Daniel said sarcastically. "Not at all."

"We're not," Minerva said. "Besides, I don't know if even that would help. I think it might be best to just leave it as it is."

Daniel sighed. "Fine but when ultimately Lucy let's it slip to him, because she is obviously going to do that at some point, it's just a matter of time," he said. "And things get better, I won't hold back my 'I told you so'."

"I would never expect you too," Minerva said with a smile, following him towards the kitchen. "It's a shame that Lucy's brother has so little faith in her."

"Lucy was the one who told Nina," Daniel said with a laugh. "Literally the first day they spent just the two of them together."

Minerva paused for a second. "All right, so you may be right," she said with a shake of her head. "If it happens and things don't get better, don't expect me to hold back my 'I told you so' either."

"I would never," he said with a laugh.

* * *

 _ **Saturday, January 10th 1998**_

Lucy sat at the kitchen table, kicking her feet back and forth, waiting. Raj and Minerva were sitting at the table as well. Raj was reading the morning newspaper and Minerva was reading a book. Daniel and Nina had gone out and would be out for the day. They were taking full advantage of Minerva and Raj being at home to look after Lucy. With Jay in the hospital and Daniel having to drive himself and Lucy up to London to see him every day, he and Nina had not gotten much of a chance to go out on very many dates.

Raj looked over at Lucy and smiled. He looked down at his watch and said, "it won't be too long now, love. She should be here soon."

"I'm so bored!" Lucy said with a sigh, putting her head down in her arms. "Where is she? She's late!"

Minerva looked up from her book and smiled as well. "Lucy, it's only been five minutes," she said. "Give it time."

Lucy sighed and got up. "I'm going to -"

Just then the doorbell rang. Lucy turned and ran to the door immediately. Raj laughed and shook his head. Lucy raced up to the front door and swung it open. Standing in front of it was a tall, skinny girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and a lot of freckles.

"Hey, Anne!" Lucy said with a smile.

"Hey, Lucy," Anne Linwood said, walking into the house. She turned around and waved at her mother before the car in the driveway drove away. She closed the door and turned back to Lucy. "So, what's up?"

"Not much. We got back from Scotland a couple days ago," Lucy said as Anne took off her shoes and coat.

"How was that?" she asked, looking up at her friend with a concerned look on her face.

"It was good, actually," Lucy said with a smile. "I really missed everyone. My grandmother even promised to call almost every day so we can talk all the time. She bought a phone for herself."

"She didn't have a phone?" Anne said. "That's weird."

"Yeah, but she has one now," Lucy said. "So now we can call her and she can call us."

"That's nice," Anne said. "I told you the trip would go well. And you were worried. You should really listen to me more."

"Oh my god," Lucy muttered, rolling her eyes. "So, how was your Christmas?"

"It was good. Oh, hey, I brought your Christmas present," Anne said, taking off her backpack and pulling out a box wrapped in red paper. She hands it over to Lucy. "Merry Christmas!"

"Thanks!" Lucy said, taking the gift from her friends. "Come on, your present is upstairs in my room. Uncle Raj and my mum are in the kitchen if you want to say hi."

Anne nodded and Lucy led the way to the kitchen. Raj and Minerva were still sitting at the kitchen table ignoring each other.

"Anne's here," Lucy said.

Raj looked up and smiled. "Hello, Anne," he said. "How are you doing?"

"Hello, Mr. Patil. I'm good," Anne said. "How was your Christmas?"

"It was good," Raj said. "Yourself?"

"It was good. We went up to my Grandmother's house in Brighton," Anne said. "It snowed so much there."

Minerva smiled. "Hello, Miss Linwood," she said, sticking her hand out for Anne to shake. "I'm Minerva McGonagall, Lucy's mother."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. McGonagall," Anne said with a polite smile, walking over and shaking her hand.

"You as well," Minerva said with a smile.

"Anne and I are going to go hang out in my room," Lucy said.

Minerva nod. "Alright, have fun."

She watched the two girls run out of the kitchen and then turned back to Raj. "I've been speaking with Nina," she said. "About how Lucy is doing in school."

"Perfect grades," Raj said, picking his newspaper back up and disappearing behind it yet again.

"No, I mean with the other children," Minerva said. Raj lowered his paper and a frown appeared on his face but he didn't say anything. "Nina has told me that she hasn't really been getting along with some of the other girls at school and she only ever talks about one friend. I'm worried about her."

Raj sighed and folded up his newspaper, sitting up straighter in his seat. "I don't know much," he said. "All I know is second hand from what Lucy's told Nina which isn't much but apparently there is a group of girls who are not very nice to her. They make fun of her for being so much younger than everyone else and stuff like that."

Minerva sighed too. "Have you talked to the school?"

"Of course," Raj said with a nod. "I've talked to the administration and to Lucy's homeroom teacher directly but they don't do much. You probably have a better understanding of student-teacher politics than I do."

"Maybe I'll try talking to her."

"You can try. She doesn't like talking about it to anyone except for Anne," Raj said. "Sometimes Nina but that's not that much either."

"Of course she talks to Nina about it," Minerva muttered.

Raj frowned, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Are you jealous of Nina?"

"What? Of course not."

"Really?" Raj said with a raised eyebrow. "So you it doesn't affect you when Lucy runs to Nina first before going to you? That she asks Nina for help when she needs it. That she goes to Nina and Daniel's bedroom at night when she has a nightmare instead of yours."

"She goes to their bedroom at night?" Minerva asked with a frown.

Raj closed his eyes and nodded. "Every single night," he said. "Still having nightmares."

"I - I didn't know that," Minerva said softly. "I knew that Nina stayed in her room when we were in Castletown but I thought that was just because she was a little scared to be up in Scotland after so long. I didn't know that she was having nightmares."

"She talks to Nina about them," Raj said. "She said that they mostly involve Jay in the hospital."

Minerva sighed again and looked down. She didn't know what to say. "I can talk to her about it too."

"You can try. She doesn't even talk to Daniel about it," he said. "Nina's a good kid and she and Lucy have gotten very close over these last few months. There is no doubt in my mind that even if it didn't work out between her and Daniel, she would still come here to see Lucy all the time. Don't take out your frustration about your relationship with Lucy on her."

"I would never," Minerva said with a frown. "Have I ever done anything to indicate that I don't appreciate everything Nina has done?"

"No, but I see the way you look at them when she does something for Lucy that you feel you should be doing," Raj said.

Minerva crossed her arms and looked away from him. "You are a great man, Raj," she said. "Again, I appreciate everything you've done for us but... but sometimes you can be a real asshole."

Raj couldn't help but smile a little bit. He shook his head and got up. "It's odd hearing words like that coming from your mouth."

"And why's that?" Minerva asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Are you going to get lunch or shall I?"

"I'll do it. I know you have work to get done."

"I'll be in the office," Raj said, walking out of the kitchen.

Minerva sighed and shook her head again. She got up and walked towards the kitchen to get started on lunch. She walked to the sink to wash her hands when suddenly two heads appears in the window over the sink. Minerva jumped and put her hand over her heart. She shook her head and opened the window.

"Are you two trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked, looking around quickly to make sure she was alone in the kitchen.

"Sorry, Professor," James said with a laugh. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Thought you might like an update," Sirius said. "So far nothing."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "You know, you two are very bad at being inconspicuous," she muttered. They just smiled stupidly up at her. She shook her head at them. "How's Peter doing?"

James sighed. "He's avoiding us right now."

"Doesn't want to talk to anyone but his mother," Sirius replied. "We're giving him some space."

Minerva nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

There was silence for a while before Sirius decided to change the subject. "So there's a friend," he said with a small smile. "Is she a Muggle?"

"Yes," Minerva said. "She is."

"She looks a lot older than Lucy," James said.

"Lucy's been bumped up in school. She took a placement test and ranked five years higher than she should be," Minerva said, leaning on the window sill. The cool January air made the hairs on her arms stand on end. "so a lot of her friends are five years older than her."

"Wow," Sirius said. "Smart kid."

"She's McGonagall's daughter, what did you expect?" James said with a laugh. "Oh man, the other day we saw her doing like a lot of magic. It looked like she was practicing in the living room, making books move around and stuff."

"Without a wand and everything," Sirius said.

"Yes, her magic is very strong it seems," Minerva replied with a nod.

"Strong magic and super smart. That's a dangerous combination," James said with a smile. "Something tells me that she's going to be quite the troublemaker when she starts at Hogwarts."

Minerva smiled a little. Sirius smirked. "That could be bad for us. She may overthrow us as the prank kings of Hogwarts."

"I don't think that's possible," Minerva replied with a smile. "Besides, Lucy is very well behaved. I doubt that Hogwarts will change that."

"I don't know, Professor," James said with a laugh. "That's what my parents thought too. Then they started receiving letters from you almost every week telling them how not well behaved I was."

"Oh man, that's going to suck for her. Her mother's going to be at Hogwarts too!" Sirius exclaimed. "She won't get the same sort of freedom we got."

"Aw, poor kid," James said.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I doubt it'll be a problem."

"Don't you think it'll be weird having your own kid in your class?" James asked.

"What if you have to give her a failing grade?" Sirius said. "That would make family dinners pretty awkward."

"I don't think that I would ever have to give Lucy a failing grade. I think she is incapable of receiving one," Minerva retorted.

"Well, every parent thinks their kid is perfect in every way," James said with a laugh.

"She is five years ahead of the rest of the kids her age, though James," Sirius said. "Maybe she is incapable of getting a failing grade."

"Well, my kid's definitely going to be a troublemaker so I'd watch out, Professor," James said.

"I will personally teach him everything I know," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Oh no," Minerva muttered. "I thought I was rid of your brand of havoc now."

"You will never be rid of us," Sirius said.

"We'll be here constantly for your havoc wreaking pleasure," James said.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Alright well, why don't you two actually get back to your job and I will get back to mine," she muttered, reaching up to close the window.

"Alright, bye Professor," James said with a smile.

"Bye, McGee," Sirius said with a laugh.

Minerva didn't bother responding. She closed the window and watched the boys pull the Invisibility Cloak over their heads before turning to make lunch for herself, Raj, and the girls.

...

The doorbell rang. Minerva got up from her seat at the kitchen table and walked towards the front door. She opened it up to find a woman with blond hair and blue eyes smiling at her.

"Hello, I'm Lisa Linwood," she said, sticking her hand out for Minerva to shake. "You must be Lucy's mother. Anne told me that you were back."

Minerva smiled and shook Lisa's hand. "Hi, yes. I'm Minerva McGonagall," she said. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well. I suppose the girls are too busy having fun to notice that I'm here," Lisa said with a smile, looking passed Minerva and up the stairs.

"That seems likely," Minerva replied. "Why don't you come in for tea? Give them a little more time to play."

"No, that's not necess-"

"Oh, it's alright. I insist. Please come in," Minerva said, motioning her into the house.

Lisa smiled and walked in. She took off her boots and coat before following Minerva into the kitchen. She sat down while Minerva made tea for the both of them.

"Is Raj here?"

"Yes," Minerva said with a nod. "He's in the office. Had some work to get done."

"Always working," Lisa said. "That man never stops. He's either working for Collins Enterprises or taking care of the children."

"Yes," Minerva said. "He has done a lot for us, I must say. He's handling all the business stuff for us. It helps not to have to think about it. It's all so complicated. "

"I can imagine," she said. "So, you're a teacher?"

"Yes, I teach physics," Minerva said. Lisa nodded. "Do you work?"

"No, I'm just at home," she replied. Minerva walked over to the table and held out a cup for Lisa. She took it and smiled. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Minerva said. She sat down and sighed. "Daniel told me that you helped them out a lot while my husband was in the hospital and I was unavailable as well. Thank you for everything you did for my family."

Lisa smiled. "Oh, it's no problem at all," she said, taking a sip of her tea. "They are both great kids. Daniel took very good care of Lucy while Jay was in hospital. He and Raj did everything. I just helped out whenever I could."

"Still, I appreciate it," Minerva replied. "Anne is a very nice young woman as well. Very polite and well behaved."

"Thank you," Lisa said with a smile. "Honestly, that girl is only like that when she's out of the house. At home, she is... not."

Minerva laughed. "Lucy is the same."

"They are very similar. Even with the age difference. When she first told me about Lucy, I will admit that I was a little worried about her. A five year old girl thrown in with a bunch of ten year olds but she seems to hold her own very well. You must be very proud."

"I am," Minerva said with a smile. "I always knew that Lucy was quite smart for her age. She would remember everything and used to copy the words on Jay's work papers into her notebook."

"She's quite special," Lisa agreed with a smile. "Anne told me about her winning that award for her essay two months ago."

"Oh? She didn't tell me about that."

"She didn't? They had to write a short little essay about Pre-Roman Britain and their teacher was very happy with Lucy's. She had her submit it for a contest and she won," Lisa said. "She got a small plaque and I think one hundred and fifty pounds. Probably not really much for you all but still quite impressive."

"Wow, yes that is quite impressive," Minerva said. "I'll ask her about it."

"I think her self-esteem took quite a hit a while ago," Lisa said sadly. "Like I said, she was still a five year old girl thrown in with a bunch of ten year olds. She had some problems with some of the other girls but she was able to deal with them before. Then Jay got admitted to the hospital and... I don't know. She hasn't really been the same."

Minerva frowned. "I've been told over and over about these other girls," she said. "Who are they and what are they saying?"

"I don't know. You know kids. They don't tell their parents these things. I only know bits and pieces that I've managed to get out of Anne," she replied. She sighed and shook her head. "Well, I'm sure now that you're back things will go back to normal soon enough."

"Hmm," Minerva mumbled, not very convinced and still quite worried about her daughter. She wondered if maybe she should go down to that school herself and see what she could do.

Just then footsteps could be heard running down the stairs towards the kitchen. Lucy and Anne ran into the kitchen. Anne saw her mother and smiled.

"Oh, hey Mum!"

"Hello, Mrs. Linwood."

"Hello, Anne. Hello, Lucy. How was your day?" Lisa said with a smile.

"It was good," Anne said, walking over to her mother. "We played some games and just hung out in Lucy's room."

"I beat Anne at checkers," Lucy said with a smile.

"I still think you cheated."

"You always say that when I win."

"Okay... maybe I just suck at checker," Anne replied with a laugh.

Minerva and Lisa laughed. Lisa finished her tea and stood up. "Well, Minerva. Thank you for the tea but we should really get going," she said. "Maybe you and the others could come over for dinner sometime next weekend. We would love to have you."

Minerva stood up too and smiled. "That would be lovely."

"Wonderful," Lisa said with a smile. "I'll give you a call later and iron out the details. Anne say goodbye and put on your coat."

Minerva and Lucy walked Anne and Lisa to the front door. They said their goodbyes and walked out into the cold. Minerva closed the door behind them and turned around to look at Lucy.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yep!" Lucy said, turning to walk back to the kitchen. Minerva followed her. "I always have fun when Anne's around."

Minerva smiled. "Well, Mrs. Linwood told me that you won an award for an essay you wrote a little while ago. How come you didn't tell me?"

Lucy shrugged. "It's not that important."

"I think it's important," Minerva said as they made it back to the kitchen and sat down at the table. "I would love to read your essay. Do you still have it?"

Lucy nodded. "It's upstairs in my desk somewhere," she said. "I can find it for you if you want but it's pretty boring. I don't think you'd want to read it."

"I would like to read it. I want to see what essay won you a hundred fifty pounds," Minerva said with a smile.

"Okay," Lucy said.

"What did you spend the money on?"

"I haven't spent any of it. It's in my piggybank upstairs."

"Wow, you're good at saving," Minerva said with a smile. "That's a good skill to have. What exactly are you saving for?"

"I don't know," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Well, it's still good to save," Minerva said. "Ah, so... Lucy, I know that you're having nightmares and going into Nina and Daniel's room at night."

Lucy cheeks went a little red and she looked down quickly. She was embarrassed. She was six years old. She wasn't supposed to need someone else with her to get to sleep. She should be sleeping on her own like a big girl.

"It's okay," Minerva said. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I just thought you might want to talk about it. It might help."

Lucy shook her head. She really did not want to talk about it at all.

Just then Raj walked into the kitchen and saw them sitting at the table. He smiled at Lucy as he walked towards the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee. "Did Anne leave?"

"Yeah, her mum picked her up," Lucy said, looking back at him.

"Did you guys have fun?"

"Yep," Lucy said. "I like when Anne comes over. She's very fun."

Raj smiled. "Well, I was thinking," he said. "I know it's my turn to make dinner but why don't we just go out for dinner today when Daniel and Nina get back."

"Okay!" Lucy said.

"If you don't want to cook, Raj, you can always just say so," Minerva said with a small smile.

"Eh, this is my way of making up for not wanting to cook. Besides Brettington's has a lot better food than I could possibly make," he said, taking a sip of his coffee and making a face. He grabbed some sugar and added it to the mug.

"Uncle Raj," Lucy said, "did you know that a city in America tried to make snow illegal in 1992?"

"I did not know that," Raj said, walking around the counter and coming over to sit down at the table.

"Really?" Minerva said with a smile.

"Yes, Syracuse. It's one of America's snowiest major cities and so they tried to control it by passing a decree that made illegal for it to snow anymore before Christmas Eve but then it snowed only two days later," Lucy said with a smile, turning back to look at Minerva. "I guess Mother Nature didn't care about the law."

"Wow, that is -"

"Stupid?"

"Very stupid," Minerva said with a laugh. She smiled and shook her head. "Are you sure that it's true?"

Lucy nodded. "I read it in a book about weird laws," she said.

"What other laws did you read about?" Raj asked.

"In a city called Mobile in Alabama, it's illegal to throw confetti or spray silly string," Lucy said with a smile.

"Well, I kind of agree with that one," Minerva said. "Very messy."

Lucy laughed.

"But it's fun," Raj said with a stupid smile.

Minerva shrugged and Lucy shook her head. "In Thailand it's illegal to step on money and in Singapore it's illegal to chew gum and here in Britain it's illegal to handle salmon in suspicious circumstance!"

Raj laughed. "Suspicious circumstance?"

"It sounds really funny but it was actually to stop illegal salmon poaching. They made it illegal to buy salmon that is believed or could reasonably be believed to have been illegally fished," Lucy said with a smile. "I looked it up after I read it because I wanted to know what they meant by _suspicious circumstance_ too."

Raj smiled and nodded. "I see."

"It's also illegal in England to die in the House of Parliament but I'm pretty sure if you did you probably wouldn't get in trouble."

"No," Minerva said with a laugh. She shook her head and stood up, walking towards the kitchen door. "Alright, that's enough silly laws. Nina and Daniel will be home soon. Why don't we get ready to leave for the restaurant?"

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile. She stood up too and quickly scurried over to Minerva. She took her hand and followed her mother out of the kitchen.


	7. TLT -- 7

**_February 1988_**

 _Minerva sat down on the bed with a sigh. She had just gotten out of the shower after she and Jay had had some fun. Daniel was away at a friend's house for the night so they had decided to take full advantage of their night alone. Jay was laying on the bed with a small black leather bound notebook open and a pen in hand. Minerva used her wand to dry her hair and then combed through it before laying down on the bed on her stomach and drawing small circles on his chest with her finger. Jay smiled and looked down at her._

" _What are you doing?" she asked softly. "What are you always writing in that thing?"_

" _My journal? Oh, I just write about my day, you, Daniel, anything that comes to mind really," he said with a smile._

" _It didn't look like you were writing earlier," she said. "It looked like you were drawing."_

" _I was," he said._

" _What were you drawing?"_

" _You," he said._

" _Me?" she asked. "I hope I was wearing clothes in that."_

" _Oh it was just your face," he said with a laugh. "Don't worry."_

" _Well, can I see?"_

" _I suppose," Jay said. He flipped the page back and turned his journal around. Minerva saw the sketch that he had made of her looking off to the side. Her hair was done up in a bun and her expression looked like she was concentrating._

" _Wow," Minerva said. "Did you draw that all from memory?"_

" _I've got a pretty good memory when it comes to visuals like this," he said with a smile. "Do you like it?"_

" _It's brilliant," she said, sitting up properly and taking the journal from him. "I had no idea that you were such a talented artist."_

 _He smiled. "I just dabble."_

" _This isn't dabbling. This is really good," she said, flipping through the book and looking at his other drawings. She saw drawings of Daniel, Raj, the Collins Enterprises Building. There were more drawings of her. The day they first met, on a date, with Daniel._

 _He grabbed the journal back quickly. "Hey," he said. "Did I say you could look at those?"_

 _Minerva laughed. "I like your drawings," she said, moving closer to him and hugging his chest. "I would love to see more of them."_

" _Not now," he said, putting his book down on the bedside table and wrapping both arms around her. "Right now the only masterpiece I want to look at is you."_

 _She laughed and shook her head as he started kissing her neck. "Again?" she asked. "I just showered."_

" _How often is Daniel away at a friend's house?"_

" _Alright, again," Minerva said with a laugh, lifting his head up so she could kiss his lips. He smiled into the kiss and ran his fingers through her hair._

* * *

 ** _Thursday, January 29th 1998_**

Lucy yawned as she picked up the milk carton and poured it into her cereal. It was just her, Daniel and Minerva sitting at the table this morning. Raj and Nina had both left already. Nina had some early classes so had to leave a lot earlier than usual and Raj always left earlier than everyone else because he had to drive for an hour into London.

"Lucy, I wanted to give you this back," Minerva said, picking up Jay's journal and holding it out for her. "Thank you for letting me read it."

"You're welcome," Lucy said with a smile, taking the book back. She picked up her backpack and puts the notebook inside, not really wanting to run upstairs to her bedroom right now. "Today is the try-outs for the next recital. I hope I get a solo."

"Oh, are try-outs today?" Daniel asked. "Good luck, kid."

"Thank you," Lucy said.

"Yes, good luck," Minerva said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. I can't wait to come to your recital."

"What are you trying out for?" Daniel asked.

"A solo and a duet with Wendy Linton," Lucy said. "We've been practicing a lot. I hope we get the duet and then hopefully I'll get a solo too and then I'll dance three times at the recital. One solo, one duet, and then one group."

"That's exciting," Minerva said with a smile. She looked over at the kitchen cloak. "Well, you two should probably head out if you don't want to be late for school."

Daniel nodded and he and Lucy got up. They said one last goodbye before heading out for school. Minerva left a little while later for Hogwarts.

Throughout the day, Lucy was very nervous about the try-outs. Anne kept assuring her that she would be okay but Lucy still couldn't relax. After school, Mrs. Linwood gave her a ride to the dance studio so she got there a lot earlier than usual. Lucy changed into her dance clothes, put her things away in her locker, and sat down on the ground beside the lockers. She had pulled out Jay's notebook and was reading his entry on the day of her first ballet recital. She looked at the sketch of herself at three years old doing a pirouette on the stage.

 _Three years old and already showing so much promise in Ballet. Minerva's laughing at me for getting so excited. She claims I'm only saying this because she's my daughter and I would love anything she did but I do think that Lucy is a great dancer. She looked so happy up on that stage. You could tell that she was really having fun up there. I can't wait to see her dance when she's a little older. I can't wait to see how much she improves._

Lucy smiled a little and felt the tears fill her eyes again. She wished her father was here. She felt less nervous now and wiped the tears away from her face. She closed the book and put it away as the doors to the studio opened and the other children started walking in. Lucy's teacher, Ms. Jade walked in and herded everyone into the studio.

The try-outs started and Lucy watched as names were called and people did their routines. She and Wendy were called soon enough and they did the dance that they had been practicing. They did it perfectly, no mistakes, and Ms. Jade was very impressed. The girls sat down on a bench and drank some water as the next duet started.

"You were really good," Lucy said.

"Thank you," Wendy said. "I was a little worried about the last _Grande Jeté_ but it was okay. You did really good as well. I'm glad you were my partner."

"Thanks," Lucy said with a smile. She liked Wendy. She was one of the nicest kids in Lucy's class. Most of the others were a little rude and quite full of themselves.

Eventually it was time for the solos and Lucy took her turn. She danced her routine, spinning and jumping at the right times. She imagined her father sitting in the back watching her with a smile on his face and it motivated her to concentrate harder. She wanted to do the best she could, especially if her dad was watching.

"That was wonderful, Lucy. Thank you," Ms. Jade said when she was done. _Wonderful_ was not a word that Ms. Jade used lightly. She had a couple of notes but mostly it was praise. Lucy was very happy with herself. She sat back down with Wendy to watch the rest of the try-outs.

"Alright, thank you everyone," Ms. Jade said at the end of the day. "I shall look over everything and make my decisions. I'll post the sheet outside before next class. Monday's class will proceed as normal. Have a nice evening."

Lucy followed the rest of the children out to the lockers. She changed into some regular clothes and put on her coat and backpack. She sat down on the bench to wait for Nina to come pick her up. Slowly everyone left until it was just Lucy waiting. She wondered where Nina was. She was never this late. She pulled out Jay's journal to read while she waited.

"What are you still doing here?"

Lucy turned around and saw Kate, Grace and Tiffany coming towards her. These were the girls at her school that were always rude to her. Lucy didn't know why they hated her so much and she hated that they went to the same ballet studio as her too.

"Waiting," Lucy said. "Same as you."

"Except my dad's coming to pick us up," Grace said with a horrible laugh. "Not really the same thing, is it?"

Lucy looked down at her book and sighed. The girls laughed at her and headed over to the lockers. Lucy wondered why it took them so long to come out of the studio. Class had been over for a while. She could hear them whispering behind her and did her best to ignore them.

"Did you see the way she landed on that last jump?"

"She's so bad. I don't understand why she's here!"

"I don't understand why Ms. Jade likes her so much."

"She can't dance at all!"

Lucy opened the journal to Lucy's second recital. Jay had gone to every single one until he was admitted to the hospital and he had written about them all. She read what he wrote and smiled to herself. She could dance. They could say whatever they liked but Lucy knew that she was a good dancer.

"What's even the point of giving her a solo? Nobody comes to watch her anyways."

"My mum's coming," Lucy said suddenly before she could stop herself. She felt all three girls stare at her back.

"You're such a liar," Kate said. "We all know that your mum's not here. She couldn't wait to get out of here once she saw your ugly face."

The other two girls laughed and Lucy turned around and looked at them. She closed her book and shook her head. "No, you're wrong," Lucy said. "She came back and she's excited to come watch me dance. She said she loves watching me dance. She thinks I'm a very good dancer."

"If that were true then how come she hasn't come to any for like years?" Tiffany asked. "We all know you're lying, Lucy. Just stop. It's sad."

"I'm not lying!" Lucy said, hugging her father's journal close to her chest. "She's back. She'll probably be home from work soon and I'll tell her all about the try-outs and how good I was and how bad you three were."

"That would be a lie," Kate said, glaring at her as she walked closer to the bench angrily. Lucy didn't move. She stood her ground.

"No, it's the truth. You're not a very good dancer, Kate," she said. She gave her a polite little smile. "That's why you haven't had a solo in so long."

"You're such an idiot," Kate said. She snatched the book out of Lucy's hand and looked at it. "What is this?"

"Don't touch that!" Lucy yelled, getting up to her feet quickly and trying to grab it back. Kate smiled evilly and held the book back out of her reach. "Give it back! That's not yours."

Kate pushed her back and opened the notebook so she could see what was written inside. "What's this?" she asked, smiling evilly. "Your diary?"

"No!" Lucy cried. "Give it back!"

"Tell me whose it was?" Kate said. "Did you steal it?"

"No! My dad gave it to me," Lucy said, tears filling her eyes. "Please give it back. It's his book and I have to take care of it."

Kate laughed. She looked back at her friends. "Look guys," she said. "Lucy's dad used to write in a diary. He even drew pictures!"

They laughed.

"So? What's your problem?" Lucy said angrily, moving closer and trying to grab the notebook back. "Give it back, Kate. It doesn't belong to you. Please give it back."

Kate looked back at her and pushed her back again. Lucy fell down onto her butt. The tears started to overflow down her cheeks now. It had hurt a lot.

"You're supposed to take care of it, huh?" Kate said. She grabbed one of the pages in her fist and in one quick motion ripped it in half. "Oops."

Tiffany and Grace didn't have time to laugh. Before anyone knew was going on, Lucy had gotten up and jumped on top of Kate. She punched the girl right in the nose. Kate screamed and dropped Jay's notebook. Lucy kept hitting her as she screamed and tried to get away. The other two girls just stood there in complete shock, watching with wide eyes. Kate tried to punch Lucy back but Lucy moved out of the way and bit down on her arm.

The dance studio doors burst open and Ms. Jade came running out to investigate what all the racket was. When she saw the two girls fighting on the ground she rushed over to stop them. "What is going on? Stop this! Stop this immediately," she yelled as she pulled Lucy from on top of Kate. "What is the meaning of this? This is not how young ladies behave!"

"She attacked me!" Kate exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet. Her nose was bleeding and tears fell down her cheeks.

"Miss Collins is this true?" Ms. Jade said, turning Lucy around to face her. Lucy also had tears in her eyes. The teacher kneeled down and took the girl's hands in hers. She nodded slightly. Ms. Jade was shocked, she had not expected such behaviour from her best student. "Miss Collins, I am very disappointed in you. I do not know what caused you to act this way but you will apologise this instance and then accompany me to the Headmaster's office to wait for your brother."

"No!" Lucy yelled, pulling away from Ms. Jade. Tears were blurring her vision and she rubbed her eyes so she could see again. She found what she was looking for and picked up the journal that Kate had dropped and the page that Kate had ripped out of it. She hugged it close to her chest and more tears fell down her face. "I'm not going to apologize to her!"

"What?" Ms. Jade asked, eyeing the book with a frown.

"I'm not going to apologize to her!" Lucy said again. "She - she insulted my mum and dad and she ripped my daddy's book! I'm not - not going to apologize to her!"

Ms. Jade looked at her for a second before looking over at Kate. "Is this true, Miss Erik?"

"I didn't -"

"She's lying!" Lucy exclaimed.

"You two, go wait for your parents outside," Ms. Jade said sternly to Kate's two friends as she stood back up properly. They scramble from the room quickly. Jade then turned back to Lucy and Kate. "You two follow me."

The two girls followed their teacher up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. When they got there Jade got Kate a napkin for her nose and told her sit and wait for her mother while Lucy talked to the Headmaster. The Headmaster asked her some questions which Lucy responded to right away. She told him everything that happened.

"Be that as it may, Miss Collins, we have a zero tolerance rule at this school. I don't care what Miss Erik may have said or done, we do not condone physical violence," the Headmaster said. Lucy didn't say anything. She was sat in a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk and stared at her shoes, still hugging Jay's books close to her chest. The Headmaster sighed and continued, "Miss Collins, I understand that you may be going through a very tough time right now so I'll tell you what. If you apologize to Miss Erik I will not expel you. I'm sure Ms. Jade would not be too happy about losing one of her best students."

"No," Lucy said, shaking her head violently, still not looking up from her shoes.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want to apologize."

The Headmaster looked her up and down for a moment before he spoke again. "Alright," he said finally, "why don't you wait outside for your brother. You can think it over and then tell me what you decide when he comes to get you."

Lucy nodded and stood up. She walked out of the office and sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the office from Kate. She looked over at her with a glare and Kate looked away quickly. Lucy was so done with all of Kate's constant tormenting. She didn't care what happened to her anymore. She was not going to apologize to her. She wasn't going to let her get away with what she did. She had ruined the last thing that Lucy had left of her father and Lucy wanted her to suffer for it. She knew that her family would not be very happy about what she did but she didn't really care anymore. She hoped Nina came soon. She really needed her.

Kate's mother came a few minutes later. She took one look at her daughter and became furious. She stormed into the Headmaster's office and demanded to know what happened. Nina came a little later looking very worried. She saw Lucy and raced over to her. She fell down to her knees in front of her chair.

"Lucy, what's happened?" she asked, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Lucy nodded at first and then looked up at Nina and shook her head. Tears started to roll down her cheeks again as she told Nina what had happened. She showed Nina Jay's book and the ripped paper.

"She - she ruined it," Lucy cried. "I was supposed - supposed to keep it safe and - and she just ruined it!"

Nina looked back and glared at Kate. She took the ripped paper and flattened it out as much as she could. She stuck it in the book and promised that they'd try to fix it when they got home. She gave Lucy a hug and a kiss on the forehead before getting up and angrily storming into the Headmaster's office.

"How dare she lay a hand on my baby!" Mrs. Erik's shout came through the door, making Lucy hug her book even tighter.

"Your _baby_ is the one that started it!" Nina exclaimed. "What a terrible thing to do! She should never have touched that book!"

"If she wanted to keep that thing safe she should have left it at home!"

"She obviously never expected someone to grab it from her and rip out pages!" Nina yelled. "Her father just passed away, how could someone be so insensitive!"

"Miss Chaudhry, I understand that but -" The Headmaster was trying his best to control the two women.

"But nothing! It should never have escalated to this point! That girl has been bullying Lucy for the past three years and you and your staff did nothing about it!" Nina exclaimed.

"And what proof do you have of this?" Mrs. Erik retorted.

"Proof! Just asked both those girls, they'll tell you!" Nina replied.

"Miss Chaudhry, we have a zero tolerance policy for -"

"I understand that. Zero tolerance for bullying right? Your zero tolerance policy seems to only work against us! How come for the past few years whenever Kate did anything to Lucy you suddenly forget about your zero tolerance policy? If you kick her out you have to kick out the other girl too or I will personally make sure that everyone in Rochester knows what kind of institution this is! How many students do you think you'll lose when people hear about this kind of discrimination?" Nina yelled.

There was silence for a moment. The shouting stopped. It seemed that the adults were finished yelling at each other and were talking normally with one another. Murmurs could be heard from the door but Lucy couldn't not discern specific words. Finally the door opened and Kate's mother came out. She angrily walked over to her daughter and ordered her to get up. They walked out of the office. On her way passed, the woman gave Lucy a glare. Lucy didn't do or say anything. Her expression stayed neutral. A little while after the Eriks left, Nina walked out of the office too. She walked over to Lucy and stuck her hand out for Lucy to take. Lucy got up and took Nina's hand. Without a word Nina led them back down to the dance studio to pick up Lucy's things and then out to the car. Lucy refused to let go of her father's journal. Nina helped her into the back and buckled her in before getting into the driver's seat.

They drove in silence for a while before finally Lucy spoke. "Nina," she whispered. "Are you mad at me?"

Nina looked back at her through the rearview mirror and shook her head. "No, love," she said quietly. "Lucy, you know that hitting people isn't good, right? I know what she did and said was horrible but what you did was also wrong."

"I know," Lucy whispered.

"And you know that what she said isn't true right?"

"Yeah..." Lucy said, looking out the window she could avoid looking up at Nina.

"It's not," Nina said. "Min loves you. She doesn't think that you're ugly and she didn't leave because of you. She came back because of you."

Lucy nodded.

"Don't worry about them anymore," Nina said. "We can find a new dance studio for you to go to. I'm sure we can find a way better one."

"No," Lucy said. "I don't want to dance anymore."

"Lucy..." Nina stopped at a redlight and looked back at Lucy. She said, "but I thought you really liked ballet."

"I just don't want to do it anymore."

Nina looked at her for a second before turning back as the lights went green. "Alright," she said with a sigh. "We can talk about it later. Now is probably not a good time to talk about it."

They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they made it home Lucy raced up the stairs to her bedroom. She finally put the journal down on the bed and pulled her bag off her shoulder. She pulled her ballet slippers out of the bag and looked at them for a second. Tears started falling down her cheeks again. She threw the ballet shoes away from her as forcefully as she could, knocking things over on her desk.

Lucy let the bag drop from her hands and picked the journal back up before crawling up into bed. She buried her face in the pillow and cried. She laid there for a while before there was a knock at the door. She didn't move, hoping that whoever it was would just go away. They didn't. The door opened and Daniel walked in.

"Hey, Nina told me what happened," he said as he walked over to the bed. She doesn't respond and he sat down on the bed beside her. He heard her sob and sighed. Placing a hand on her back, he said, "hey, it's okay. It's okay."

Lucy looked up finally, eyes red and puffy. Tear stains ran down her cheeks and her nose was very red. She moved close to Daniel and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. Lucy hugged him with one hand, still clutching the book with the other.

"Daniel," she whispered. "I want Daddy."

Daniel sighed again and gave her a little squeeze. "I know, kid, I know," he said softly. "Nina told me what that girl did. I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't have brought it with me. I should have just put it in my room when Mum gave it back to me," she said with a sniff. "I shouldn't have been lazy and stuck it in my bag."

"It's not your fault, kid," he said. "She should never have touched it. It's not your fault that... that she was a total bitch."

Lucy looked up at him with wide eyes before giggling a little bit. "I don't think you're allowed to say that."

Daniel laughed. "Why not?" he asked. "She was being one, wasn't she?"

Lucy thought about it before nodding a little.

"Yeah, so don't let her get to you," Daniel said. "Nina told me that you said that you don't want to do ballet anymore."

Lucy nodded again.

"Lucy, you don't have to give up something you love because you think that you're not allowed to be happy anymore,"

"I just don't want to anymore," Lucy whispered. "I don't want to dance anymore."

"Hey you know, before you were born, when I was around your age, my mom died and after her death I stopped reading comic books because they were something that made me happy," he said with a sigh. "I thought that I wasn't allowed to be happy anymore because my mother was gone and how could I justify feeling happy when she wasn't around anymore but eventually I realized that in really low times like this you have to do the things that make you happy again. Eventually I started reading comic books again and let myself be happy again. If dance makes you happy, you should keep doing it. You're allowed to be happy, Lucy. No matter what happens you have to find ways to be happy."

Lucy wiped the tears from her cheeks with one hand and buried her head in Daniel's chest. "It doesn't make me happy anymore," she whispered.

"Okay, you know what? How 'bout we give it a year?" he said. "You can stop ballet and then next year if you want to go back then we'll find a new dance studio for you to go to. How's that sound?"

"Okay," Lucy mumbled though she doubted she'd change her mind. Daniel sighed and held her, rocking her gently.

Eventually they heard the front door open downstairs. Daniel looked down at his watch and said, "that's probably Min. Do you want to talk to her?"

Lucy nodded.

"Do you want me to tell her to come up?"

Lucy nodded again.

"Okay, kid," he said, putting her down onto the bed. "I'll let her know that you want to see her."

Lucy watched him walk out of her bedroom and sighed before laying back down and burying her face in the pillow again.

...

"She did what?!" Minerva exclaimed, not comprehending what Nina was telling her right now. She couldn't imagine Lucy ever doing anything like that.

"She got into a fight," Nina said sadly. "With a girl named Kate. Complete bitch actually. She's been bullying Lucy since... forever I guess. She said and did some terrible things."

Minerva flopped down on a chair at the kitchen table and sighed. "Fighting is not okay, no matter what she may of done."

"I know and Lucy knows too," Nina said. "And I think that if it had been any other time she wouldn't have done it. Lucy's been having a hard time, you know. And she was getting better too, this has just made it worse again."

"She was getting better, that's why I don't understand why she would do that."

"She said something about Uncle Jay and tried to wreck his journal," Nina said. "She also said that you couldn't get out of here fast enough after you saw her ugly face."

Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose. "I hope she doesn't believe that."

"I told her it wasn't true," she replied. "She got kicked out of the school though. So did the other girl though so that's good at least." Nina paused for a second and then smiled. "I think she broke the bitch's nose. It must have been quite the punch."

Minerva gave Nina a look. "I hope you didn't encourage her behaviour."

"Of course not," Nina said with a laugh. "But she's not here right now so I can tell you what I really think and that is that what she did, though probably a little morally ambiguous, was pretty awesome."

"I don't think _ambiguous_ is the right word," she replied. Nina laughed. Minerva shook her head though she smiled. "Where is she now?"

"Upstairs. Daniel is talking to her. She hasn't left her room since we got back," Nina said, smile fading away. "She really did love ballet. It was the only thing that seemed to make her forget about everything else. I don't know what she's going to do now."

Just then Daniel walked into the kitchen. Nina and Minerva turned and looked at him expectantly. "She's okay," he said. "She was crying before but she's okay now. She said she still doesn't want to do ballet anymore though. Said it doesn't make her happy anymore."

Nina sighed. "She's just saying that so you'll stop telling her to keep doing it."

"I know," Daniel replied. "I told her that she could take this year off and if she wanted to she could go back next year."

"That's a good idea," Minerva said with a nod.

"She wants to talk to you," he said, looking at Minerva.

Minerva nodded and got up. "I'll go now," she said as she walked out of the room. When she was out of the kitchen she smiled a little. She was so happy that Lucy wanted to talk to her about what happened. Minerva walked up the stairs and over to Lucy's bedroom. She knocked on the door and heard a little voice on the other side letting her in. She opened the door and saw Lucy laying in bed with her head face down in the pillow.

"Hello, Lucy," Minerva said.

"Are you going to tell me to keep doing ballet too?" she asked.

"No, Daniel told me that you don't want to do it anymore," Minerva said, walking into the room and closing the door behind her. She walked to the bed and sat down. "That's okay."

Lucy doesn't say anything. Minerva sighed and ran her fingers through Lucy's hair. Lucy turned and looked up at her mother for a second before tears filled her eyes. She sat up a bit and hugged Minerva. Minerva wrapped her arms around her daughter and rubbed small circles on her back. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here, sweetheart, it's going to be okay."

"Why do they hate me? What did I do?" Lucy asked through her tears. "I try to be nice to them but they're still so mean to me!"

"I don't know. Lucy," Minerva whispered. "Some people are just like that. Maybe there's something going on at home or maybe they're just very angry people. Either way what they're doing is wrong and you shouldn't believe the horrible things they say."

"I just want people to like me. Am I that horrible that people can't like me?"

"No, no, you're not!" Minerva said. She wished that she could do something or say something better to make Lucy understand. She hated seeing her like this. "I know it's hard, darling, but you know someday you'll move on to bigger and better things and they're going to regret ever being mean to you."

There was silence for a while. Lucy moved and showed her mother the journal. "She - she grabbed it from my hands and ripped it," she whispered. "I asked you to keep it safe but then I didn't do that!"

Minerva sighed and took the book from her. She opened it up and looked at the ripped and scrunched up paper. She used her hand to flatten it out as much as she could. "It's okay," she said. "I can -"

"I - I just wanted something to do while I waited for Nina," Lucy said, hiding her face in her hands. "It was in my bag so I was reading it while I waited."

"It's not your fault, Lucy," Minerva said, putting a hand on Lucy's back. "I can -"

"I should have just left it in my box!"

"Lucy, it's okay," Minerva said. "I can fix it. It's okay."

Lucy looked up suddenly. She looked at her mother with wide eyes. "You - you can?"

"Yes," Minerva said with a small smile, pulling out her wand. "Watch." She pointed the wand at the book and said, " _Reparo_."

Slowly the paper began to knit itself together. The paper was still wrinkled but it was no longer ripped. Lucy looked at it with wide eyes for a second before hugging Minerva tightly. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. "Thank you for fixing it!"

Minerva smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "You are very welcome," she said. "The page is not all flat yet but hopefully if we close it and put some weight on top it will fix that."

She closed the book and Lucy looked up. She took the book from Minerva and slid off the bed. She walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out her box of important things. She placed the book inside before walking back to the bed and leaning against Minerva's legs.

"I know you were excited to see me dance," Lucy whispered. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright, my darling," Minerva said with a smile, cupping Lucy's cheeks with her hands and wiping the tears away with her thumbs. "I do hope that you'll change your mind soon though and go back to it."

Lucy didn't say anything. She leaned forwards and rested her forehead on Minerva's chest. Minerva sighed and put a hand on the back of her head.

"Alright," she whispered. "Your Uncle Raj will be here soon and Daniel's making dinner. Why don't you get washed up and come down?"

Lucy nodded a little. She stayed there for a minute before finally pulling away from Minerva and walking towards the bedroom door. Minerva watched her for a second before looking around the room. She noticed papers and a vase laying on the ground in front of Lucy's desk. Lucy's pointe shoes were laying on the ground beside them. She must have thrown them when she got home. Minerva stood up and cleaned everything up before picking up the shoes and walking back towards Lucy's bookshelf. She pulled out Lucy's box of important things, opened it up, and set the shoes inside.

Minerva walked out of the bedroom and headed down the stairs. She walked back into the kitchen where Daniel was cooking dinner and Nina was sitting at the table with her textbook open in front of her.

Nina looked up when she entered. "How is she?"

"I think she'll be okay," Minerva said, walking over and sitting down at the table as well. "She should be down soon."

"That's good," Daniel said. He noticed that Nina still didn't look all that convinced and gave her half a smile. "She'll be okay, babe. She just needs to forget about it for a while."

Nina sighed. "Yeah, she will," she mumbled. She looked at her book for a second before looking up again. "I'm going to be away for a few weeks in February and March."

"Where are you going?" Minerva asked.

"Clinicals start then so I need to stay on campus," Nina said.

"What are clinicals?"

"It's when nursing students work at a hospital and just get experience in that environment," Nina explained. "So I'll be working basically nine-to-five hours and it'll just be easier for me to stay in my flat on campus during that time. I'll be back on the weekend but I'll be staying there on the weekdays."

"Oh, that sounds interesting," Minerva said.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to do some practical work," she said. She motioned to her textbook. "Theory can get boring."

Minerva smiled. "Are you paid for this work?"

"Yep," Nina replied. "I mean, it's not much but it's something."

Minerva laughed a little. Nina looked over at Daniel. "Are you coming to stay with me for couple nights?"

Minerva looked over at him as well. Daniel looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I've got three exams back to back next month so I was thinking," he looked at Minerva, "if you were okay watching Lucy for a couple days, I could stay on campus. That way I'd be able to study late in the library and not have to worry about picking her up or dropping her off."

"Of course," Minerva said. "You focus on your school, Daniel. I can worry about Lucy."

He smiled. "Thanks," he said. "Uncle Raj will be here too, of course."

"Wonderful," Minerva said.

"You and Uncle Raj are still having problems?" Nina asked.

"I don't think either of us are each other's favourite person right now," she mumbled. She sighed. "It's a shame really. We got along very well before all of this happened. Jay, Raj, Amelia, and I used to go out together at least once a month when Lucy and Daniel were younger. It was nice to just drink, talk, and forget about everything for a little while."

"Forgetting about your kids, how fun," Daniel said.

Minerva laughed. "We didn't forget about you," she said. "We tried but we never could."

"I'm glad I make a lasting impression," Daniel said with a smile.

"That sounds really nice," Nina said. "I hope eventually you guys will go back to that."

"Back to Uncle Raj pretending to hit on you and then insult you just to annoy Dad," Daniel said with a laugh.

Minerva shook her head. "I can't believe he did that in front of you," she said. "And besides, it wasn't to annoy your father. It was to annoy Amelia."

"Right, of course," Daniel said.

"Why would that be?" Nina asked.

"Uncle Raj likes Amelia, even though he'll never say it," Daniel said with a smile.

"And Amelia likes him, even though she'll never say it," Minerva said.

Nina smiled. "I knew there was something weird between them!" she said. "They're pretty weird together. I thought it was just because of the whole not seeing each other in so long thing but it's so much better!"

Minerva laughed and shook her head. She was about to say something when Lucy walked into the kitchen too. She walked over to the table and looked at the book in front of Nina. "I was reading your textbook yesterday," she said as she sat down on a chair on her knees, "and I found a mistake on page one hundred and two."

"Really?" Nina asked with a smile turning to the page in question. Lucy nodded. She leaned over so she could see too and pointed to the mistake. Nina laughed. "They spelt antiseptic wrong."

Daniel laughed. "They make you pay so much for the book you'd think they could at least spell things right."

Minerva smiled.

Nina sighed and closed her book. "This is the third edition too," she said. "They had three chances to get it right."

Lucy smiled. She reached over and pushed the book in front of her so she could look at it properly. "My science teacher says that it's stupid how they make you buy the newest edition of the textbook," she said. "He says that they change one little thing and then sell it as a new version. "

"It's true," Daniel said. "It is really stupid. And they're so expensive too. Like at least we can afford them, what about for the people who can't?"

"Yeah," Nina mumbled. "It is stupid but I have to buy them -" Very dramatically she leaned back into Lucy and put her hand to her forehead. "Or I'll fail!"

Lucy laughed as she pushed Nina off of her. Minerva smiled. "I'm not sure that was dramatic enough."

Nina smirked. "Oh you don't think I have a future in acting?"

"Probably not," Daniel told his girlfriend with a laugh.

"Ah, that was dream! You're crushing my dream!"

Just then the front door opened and Lucy got up quickly. She raced towards it to find her uncle standing there taking off his coat. Raj smiled at Lucy. "Hey, Princess," he said. "How did your try-outs go?"

Lucy stopped smiling and she sighed. She walked over to him and hugged his legs. "Not good."

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't that bad," he said, reaching down and picked her up.

Lucy shook her head. She told him what happened and he frowned. "She did what?"

"Tried to rip Daddy's book."

"And they kicked you out?" Raj asked.

Lucy nodded. "And her too."

"Well, at least they kicked her out too. She pushed you and ripped your book. She deserved to be kicked out too," he said. "I don't think you should hit people anymore though. Doesn't look great, you know. When someone is mean to you make sure you get your revenge in a way where you can't get caught."

Lucy laughed.

"Don't tell your mother I said that," he said with a smile.

"Okay," Lucy said with a laugh.

He put her down and took off his shoes before following her into the kitchen. He said hello to everyone and set his briefcase down on the island counter. Daniel finished dinner and they all sat down to eat. Daniel pulled a stool over so Lucy could have a seat as well. During dinner, Lucy told Raj that she was no longer doing ballet and he agreed that waiting a year to decide was probably a good idea. He asked the rest of them about their days and Daniel asked about his. After dinner, Lucy sat down at the table with Nina and Minerva to do some homework. Raj was in the office going over some Collins Enterprises things with Daniel. Minerva took this opportunity to get some marking done as well.

"What are you learning about in school, sweetheart?" Minerva asked.

"In science we're learning about the solar system," Lucy said. "Did you know that the Apollo astronauts' footprints on the moon will probably stay there for at least 100 million years?"

"I did not," Minerva said with a smile.

"So do you think we'll colonize Mars, Lucy?" Nina asked.

"Yes!" she said excitedly. "It's the closest Earth-like planet and if we can figure out how to terraform the planet then we could live there!"

"I don't know if I want to live on Mars," Nina said.

"I don't want to live there either," Lucy replied, "but I'd like to visit."

"No. I don't want to visit either," Nina said with a laugh. "I think I want to stay on Earth."

"What if it was like that movie where everyone has to get on the spaceships and leave Earth or you'll die?" Lucy asked.

"Nope, I'm going to die on Earth," Nina replied.

"I have to agree with Nina on that one," Minerva said with a laugh. "I would also prefer to stay on Earth."

"You guys are crazy," Lucy said. "You would rather die on Earth than live in space?"

They nodded.

"I'll bet Daniel and Uncle Raj would want to come to space with me. We could probably find some friendly aliens," she said. "Don't you want to explore space with us, Nina?"

Nina shook her head. "Sorry, Lucy," she said, "but space is not for me. I'm more of an Earth girl, I must say."

"But I want you to come!"

"Augh, fine," Nina said with a smile. "If you want me to come then I'll come."

Lucy looked over at her mother. "You're going to come too, right?"

"Sure, I'll come," Minerva said with a smile.

"Great!"

"Though I don't think we will have to do that anytime soon," Minerva mumbled.

Lucy shrugged. "Who knows?" she said. "We went to the moon in 1969 so we have the technology."

"The space race has kind of slowed down now though," Nina said with a smile.

Lucy shrugged again. "I'm just glad that you guys would come if we have to leave Earth," she said. "I don't want to leave you."

Nina and Minerva laughed. They talked more about space for a while before turning back to their own works so they could get things done too.


	8. TLT -- 8

**_Wednesday, February 4th 1998_**

"Sock slides are fun, Lucy, but they get boring," Daniel told his sister. "Can't we do something else instead?"

"Like what?" Lucy asked.

Daniel shrugged. He stood up from the couch he was sitting on and looked around the room. "I don't know. There isn't really anything to do is there?"

"When's Nina coming back?" Lucy asked grumpily, crossing her arms. "She's more fun than you. She would do sock slides with me."

Daniel gave her a look and flicked her forehead. Lucy laughed and pushed his hand away. "Nina," he said, "isn't coming home till Friday. So we, my dear sister, will have to find a way to entertain ourselves until then without her."

"And how, my dear brother, will we do that?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"I have not thought that far ahead yet."

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled thoughtfully, standing up from the couch too. She thought for a moment before getting very excited and jumping up and down. "We could go to the park!"

"I don't want to go outside in the cold," Daniel replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Also, it's so far away from here."

"Okay..." Lucy said with a sigh. She really wanted to go to the park but she tried to think of another idea for something they could do instead. "How about we play a board game?"

"No, I'm too bored for board games."

Lucy frowned. It seemed like Daniel didn't want to do anything she wanted to do. "Well, I've come up with suggestions and you've said no to all of them," she said, "so you come up with something then."

"Okay, I will come up with a non-stupid idea. Just give me a minute." Daniel thought for a moment before smiling. "Sledding?"

Lucy laughed. "How can we go sledding without snow?"

"Inside of course."

Lucy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, not really sure what he had in mind. He motioned for her to follow him out of the room and she did.

...

"Oh yeah, this isn't stupid at all," Lucy mumbled, sitting on a sled at the top of the stairs. She looked down the staircase and made a scared face. They looked a lot longer and farther down than she remembered them.

"It'll be fine," Daniel said with a smile, putting a helmet on top of Lucy's head. "It'll be fun."

"Why don't you go first instead," she said.

"Because you offered."

"I change my mind," she replied.

"Don't be a wimp. We've gone down the stairs in sleeping bags and mattresses before," he said. "Why would this be different?"

"I don't know, Daniel," Lucy mumbled.

"Do you want a push?"

"No!" she said, looking back at him. He just smiled. She sighed and turned back to the stairs. "I guess it worked when Kevin did it in Home Alone."

"It did," Daniel said with a laugh. "I remember. Should I go down and open the front door?"

"Our front door is a lot further away from the stairs than Kevin's was," Lucy said. "I don't think I'll make it there."

"No, probably not," Daniel said.

"Should I buckle my helmet?" she asked.

"Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Alright," she mumbled, taking the rope handle of the sled in her hands and taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

She pushed forward and the sled started going down the stairs. It worked for the first two steps but then on the third the sled didn't quite make it and snagged the front. It toppled over and Lucy was flung forward. The helmet, which, looking back she probably should have buckled, flew off her head leaving her with no protection as she rolled down the stair.

"Lucy!" Daniel yelled and ran down after her. Lucy fell down the last step after hitting her head on almost every step and landed with a thud on her back. Her eyes were closed and the sled on top of her.

Minerva heard a loud crash and Daniel yell from the kitchen and looked up from her essays quickly. "Daniel? Lucy?" she called loudly. "Is everything alright?"

There was no answer so Minerva stood up and walked towards the entrance hall. She walked in and saw Lucy on the ground unconscious and her eyes widened. "What the hell happened?" she screamed, falling to her knees at Lucy's side. She pushed the sled off of her and moved her over into her arms. "Lucy, sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Erm," Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes. She blinked a couple times and squinted up at Minerva. "What - what happened?"

"We were... ah... trying something," Daniel mumbled softly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand unconsciously.

Minerva looked at the sled and the helmet on the ground and her expression became furious. "TRYING SOMETHING!"

Lucy winced and groaned again at the sudden loud noise. She reached up and rubbed her forehead. "I don't feel good," she mumbled as she pushed herself up. She sat up properly and swayed a little. "I feel dizzy."

"I think she might have a concussion," Daniel said as Minerva put a hand on her back and steadied her. Minerva glared at him. He walked over and picked Lucy up. "Alright, kid, let's get you to the couch."

"I'm tired," she mumbled.

"I know," he said, as he walked towards the living room. He looked back at Minerva. "We should probably take her to the hospital."

Minerva stood up and shook her head. "No. I will get Poppy," she said. "If it's just a concussion she can have Lucy fixed up faster than a Muggle hospital can."

"A witch doctor then?" Daniel asked with a smile.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I'm still mad at you," she said as she headed in the opposite direction towards the front door. "Keep an eye on her until I come back."

"Okay," Daniel said with a small smile. When Minerva was gone, he carried Lucy into the living room and laid her down on the couch. "I'm sorry, kid, that was a stupid idea."

"What was?" she asked confused.

"You don't remember what happened?"

Lucy thought for a moment and then smiled. "Oh yeah, stairs sledding."

"Yeah, stairs sledding," Daniel said with a smile. "I guess alliteration does not equal good idea."

"No, not really," she mumbled as her eyes got heavy. "I'm tired and gross. Can you turn off the lights? They're too bright."

"Sure," he said, standing up and walking over to the light switch. He turned the lights off and then pulls the curtains over the windows. "Anything else?"

"My head hurts."

"I know," Daniel said. "Don't worry, Min'll be back with a doctor soon."

"Okay," Lucy said.

"Of course the one day we do something stupid is the one day our live in nurse isn't here," Daniel said with a shake of his head as he sat back down by the couch in front of Lucy. He picked up a blanket and put it over her. "We should only do stupid things that could get us hurt when Nina's around."

"You should have gone first," she mumbled sleepily.

"You're probably right," he said with a smile.

"Where's Mum?"

His smile faded. "She went to get the doctor, remember?"

"Oh, right," Lucy said thoughtfully. "Where's Nina?"

"Okay, why don't you just lay back and relax," Daniel said.

...

Minerva ran into the Hospital Wing to find Madam Pomfrey sitting at her desk filling out some paperwork. Pomfrey looked up and gave her a smile though it disappeared when she saw the look on Minerva's face. "What's happened?"

"Poppy," Minerva said, "would you please accompany back to Rochester and look over Lucy? I think she may have gotten a concussion."

"Oh my," Pomfrey said standing up quickly. She grabbed her bag and walked around her desk. "Of course. Let's go!"

The two women ran from the Hospital Wing and out of the castle. They went down through the grounds until finally they came to the Hogwarts gate. Minerva grabbed Pomfrey's hand and they Apparated back to Rochester.

Minerva led Pomfrey up the driveway and through the front door of her house. They walked into the living room that was all dark and over to the couch where Lucy was laying. Daniel looked up and said, "Hi, I'm -" Before he could finish, Pomfrey pushed past him over to Lucy. He moved out of the way quickly and watched her move her wand over a sleeping Lucy. "Daniel Collins. If you need anything."

Minerva gave him a look. "Alright. Explain."

"Ah, well," he muttered. "We were bored and that led to avoidable, yet still unavoidable, stupidity."

"I never expected this from you, Daniel," Minerva muttered with a shake of her head. "Her, maybe, but you? Never."

"Never?" Daniel asked with a little smile. "Really?"

"Well, not now! I thought you had grown up by now," Minerva said crisply as she crossed her arms. "Evidently I was wrong. You're almost nineteen and you still behave like a child."

"I'm sorry," Daniel said. "It really was stupid and I should not have let it happen." He looked away and added quieter, "or came up with it in the first place."

Minerva glared at him and shook her head. She walked away, over to the couch where Lucy was laying. "How is she?"

"She'll be fine," Pomfrey said with a smile. Se zipped up her bag, turned around and stood up. "She might not remember what happened when she wakes up but she'll be fine. I've given her a potion that should alleviate the concussion. She just needs to sleep. She should wake up soon feeling as good as new."

"Thank you, Poppy."

"Of course," she said with a smile. She looks over at Daniel and stuck out her hand. "Sorry about earlier. I'm Poppy Pomfrey, the healer at Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. "Thanks for everything."

"Not a problem. Though, I do ask you not try whatever it is you did again," she replied.

He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, we won't."

"Well, I best be off," Pomfrey said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Minerva."

"Goodbye, Poppy," Minerva said as Pomfrey picked up her bag and headed for the door. Minerva then turned to look at the sleeping Lucy and sighed. She moved and sat down beside her head, pushing some of the hair out of the little girl's face. Lucy looked to be sleeping peacefully. "You are both such idiots."

"But you love us," Daniel said annoyingly, sitting down in an armchair.

Minerva rolled her eye but said, "but I love you."

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, February 10th 1998_**

"Alright, kid," Daniel said as he pulled up in front of Lucy's school and looking back at her. "Nina and I will be back this weekend. Maybe don't go too crazy while we're gone. Min's probably a little out of practice dealing with your craziness."

"I'm not crazy," Lucy said, sticking out her tongue at him.

He laughed. "Whatever you say..."

Lucy shook her head but smiled. She opened the car door but looked back at Daniel before getting out. "Good luck on your midterms, Daniel," she said. "See you soon."

"Bye, Lucy," he said with a smile. "Oh, and you're taking the bus home remember."

She nodded and got out of the car, saying one last goodbye. She waved as Daniel drove away and then ran towards the school to find Anne.

The school day went by quite quickly and uneventfully. Lucy hadn't been bothered by Kate in a while since she had broken her nose. Kate was still scared of her so she left her alone. Lucy was more than happy to ignore her back. She also liked the way Kate ran away whenever she made a move to walk away or get up quickly. She had told Anne all about what she had done to Kate the day after and Anne thought it was hilarious. Kate's nose had healed now but she had to wear bandages around it for weeks after Lucy had broken it. Lucy had made new friends because of what she had done as well. She had started talking more with Kim Baker and Natalie Harold who had previously not talked to her very much because they had been worried about what Kate would have said to them if they did. Some of the boys had also started talking to her, congratulating her on her great punch and asking her where she had learned to fight. She had of course learned through wrestling with a much larger, older brother. They were quite impressed and Anne was very much liking having them around.

After school Lucy got on the bus with Anne. They sat together and talked during the bus ride. Anne told her all about this new book she had been reading. When Lucy's stop finally came she saw her mother walking through the gate towards the house through the window. She quickly said goodbye to Anne, thanked the bus driver and got off the bus. She ran towards her mother happily.

"Hey!"

Minerva turned around and smiled at her. "Hello, darling," she said. Hearing the happiness in Lucy's voice made her happy after a long day. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," she replied, coming through the gate and walking over to Minerva. Minerva smiled and tousled her hair a bit when she came up.

"So, Daniel's in Canterbury now?"

"Yep," she said, taking her hand as they walked. Minerva smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze. "He said that I shouldn't be too crazy because you might be out of practice with dealing my crazy."

Minerva laughed. "You are pretty crazy but I think I'll be okay."

"I'm not crazy!" she exclaimed though she smiled.

"So, it will just be the two of us tonight," Minerva said as they walked up the steps to the front door. "Raj has some work to do in London so he won't be coming over till tomorrow."

Lucy didn't respond. She stopped walking suddenly. Something caught her eye and she quickly turned her head towards a bush on the side of the house with a furrowed brow. Minerva looked over but saw nothing.

"What is it?"

Lucy shook her head and kept going the rest of the way to the front door. "Nothing. I thought I saw something but I guess it was nothing. Maybe I am crazy," she said with a smile. She pulled her mom towards the door. "Let's go inside. It's kind of cold."

Minerva decided not to push. She just smiled and followed her daughter into the house, giving one last glance over to the bush Lucy had been looking at but still seeing nothing. She and Lucy went back into the house.

...

It was late now. Lucy was in bed and Minerva was finishing up the dishes in the kitchen when she heard a knock at her window. She looked over and saw nothing. With a shake of her head she opened the kitchen window and leaned out. "You boys need to be more careful," she said. "Lucy very nearly saw you earlier."

Sirius Black and James Potter took the Invisibility Cloak off of themselves and smirked up at their teacher. "Sorry, Professor," Sirius said with a laugh. "We'll try to be sneakier. Your daughter is just very observant."

Minerva rolled her eyes. She looked at James and gave him a small smile. "How's Lily doing?"

"She's doing well," James replied. "She's having weird cravings though."

"Yeah, I was ordered to bring them anchovies in the middle of the night last night," Sirius said with a laugh.

Minerva smiled. "Well, she is eating for two."

"Apparently the baby likes anchovies," James said with a laugh.

"So far, I can't really get on board with his taste," Sirius said. He looked at his watch and then back at Minerva. "Dumbledore is showing up soon, right?"

"Yes, and then you two will be relieved of your task for a while," Minerva replied. She sighed. "Thank you again for doing this. It means a lot to me and I know you both probably have other things to worry about, I shouldn't be adding on top of that."

"Hey, no worries," Sirius said with a smile. "We're happy to help."

"Yeah, I mean your family is pretty awesome," James said. "I can't wait for them to actually meet us."

"Well, you've already met Daniel," she said with a smile. "And Lucy as well, if you remember."

"Yeah, but I don't think she remembers us now," Sirius said. "I'd like to meet Nina and Raj too. They seem nice. He plays with Lucy a lot."

"He's the fun uncle," James said with a laugh.

"The kind of uncle I'm going to be to mini-James," Sirius said with a smile.

Minerva smiled and James laughed, shaking his head. "Nah, man," he said. "Lily won't let me name him James Junior."

"I think it's mostly because you suggested it both as a girl's and boy's name," Minerva said.

"Nah, she doesn't want another James at all," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Hey! I'm great!" James said.

"Eh," Sirius replied with a little shrug. "Anyways, I can't wait to meet Lucy again. I'm just glad she doesn't really play with dolls anymore."

"What are you talking about, you loved playing dolls with the kid," James teased. "I think that was the most fun you had in our fourth year."

"I wouldn't say the most fun," Minerva said. "You four got up to quite a bit that year."

Just then a knock could be heard from the front door. Minerva turned to look in the direction of the door. "That must be Albus," she said, turning back around and reaching up to close the window again. "I'll see you two soon."

"Well, if we're doing a good job, you won't," Sirius said with a smirk. "See you, Professor."

"Bye, Professor," James said. He and Sirius pulled the Cloak back over themselves and disappeared.

Minerva smiled and shook her head. She closed the window and moved quickly to the front door to let Dumbledore in. She locked the door behind him and led him into the kitchen. It had been a while since he had been in this house. Lucy had been only about a year old before they had decided that their meetings in Rochester would only attract attention to the house as the war was beginning to start up.

"You've heard about Harold Mitchum, I assume," Dumbledore said as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yes," Minerva muttered sitting down across from him. "I can't say that I'm surprised. We've been at war for five years and still we haven't seen even the glimpse of an end."

Dumbledore sighed. "Well, he's being replaced as Minister by the Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation, Millicent Bagnold."

"Background check?"

"Came up clean," he replied, holding out a folder towards her.

Minerva nodded and took the folder from him. "Good," she said as she looked through it. She saw Bagnold's Hogwarts records, employment history, personal information, and reports from the Order member stationed to follow her. Nothing out of the ordinary here. She closed the folder and handed it back to him. She sighed and looked out the window. "Did you read Barty Crouch's edict?"

Dumbledore nodded, setting Bagnold's folder off to the side and picking up another. This one contained all Order member tasks and assignments for the next few weeks. He slid it towards her but she paid it no attention. "Yes," he said, voice sounding quite impartial. "I can't say that I am surprised."

"You can't really support this," Minerva said, looking back at him in shock. "Allowing the Aurors the use of Unforgivable Curses! That's ridiculous. How are we any better than them if we use those?"

"I cannot tell Barty Crouch to change how he runs the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," he replied. "In a recent poll, fifty seven percent of the population support this edict. They believe it will protect our Aurors."

Minerva stared at him. She wasn't asking him what the population thought about the edict. She had read the same paper he had, she had already seen the poll. She shook her head and said, "what do you think though?"

"I would never support the killing of another human being," he replied.

"The war is only going to get worse with this edict," said Minerva with a shake of her head, looking away again.

He didn't reply. They sat in silence for a little while before Minerva sighed and looked back over at him. "Emmeline told me that Italy and Spain are offering support now."

"Yes. They've sent Aurors our way."

"That's good."

He nodded. "The Queen is worried about the safety of the rest of the royal family after the death of Princess Diana last summer."

"They're not going to be staying at Hogwarts too are they?" Minerva asked.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I believe the palace is just as safe for them as Hogwarts but they want more Order protection for the children. They're worried that the royal guard will no longer be enough."

"The Order is already spread very thin," Minerva mumbled, finally picking up the folder he had placed in front of her and opening it up. She pulled out the list of members and their tasks and shook her head. "We don't have people to spare right now and the Aurors are much too busy as well. Moody won't want to lose more just to watch over the palace."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll let them know that we can't expend more of our wandpower."

"Besides the guards have been investigated. They're on our side and they're trained well enough for their purposes. They are large in number. Maybe they should be helping us out more," Minerva muttered.

Dumbledore smiled. "Many of the royal guards are helping us out," he said. "There was a raid earlier today that ended with the arrest of five Death Eaters by multiple Royal Guards."

"That's good," Minerva said. "Why can't you come to me with good news more often?"

"Well, you could always give me good news," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "How are Lucy, Daniel and Nina doing?"

"I was not aware that this was going to be a social call."

"We can't drown in work every night, Minerva," Dumbledore said.

"They are alright," she replied. "Daniel and Nina are in Canterbury. Nina has work experience and Daniel has midterms so they decided to stay the rest of the week on campus. It was a big decision for him. He's worried about Lucy."

Dumbledore smiled. "Why was he worried?"

"Well, it's the first time he's left Lucy alone since Jay's death," Minerva said quietly. "She's been sleeping in their bed with them. She's been having nightmares."

"Is she sleeping now?"

"Yes," Minerva said sounding tired all of a sudden. "Finally."

Dumbledore smiled. "She's hard to wrangle."

"You have no idea," Minerva mumbled, leaning back in her chair. "Too energetic, I think."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," he reasoned.

"No, but she seems to get a burst of energy right before bedtime," she said with a shake of her head.

They talked about the war and strategy for a while longer. It was getting quite late now and the meeting was wrapping up when Dumbledore said, "Oh, I've began accepting applications for the Divinations position." He waved his wand and another folder appeared on the table in front of her. "We've already gotten a lot of applicants."

Minerva made a face as she looked through the applications. "Ridiculous subject, Divinations," she muttered. "Why even bother -"

"Hello," a small voice came from the doorway.

Minerva turned to see Lucy poking her little head through the door. She gave her a small smile. "Hello, sweetheart, couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head and slowly walked into the kitchen. She walked to her mother's side of the table, staring at Dumbledore. He smiled at her. "Who are you?"

"Lucy, that's not very nice," Minerva said.

Dumbledore smiled. "That's alright," he said. "I'm Albus Dumbledore. We've met before. You were very young then, probably have forgotten all about me."

"He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Minerva explained. "He's your Uncle Albus."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Uncle Albus," Lucy said, "again, I guess."

Dumbledore smiled. "The last time I saw you, you were so small," he said. "You've gotten so much older now."

Lucy smiled a little. She moved a little closer to her mother and Minerva picked her up onto her lap. "What happened, darling?" she asked. "Why aren't you in bed?"

Lucy turned and rested her head on her mother's chest with a sigh. "I had a bad dream," she whispered. "Can I stay with you?"

Minerva gave her a small smile. "Of course, love."

She looked up at Dumbledore and he gave a small nod. "I think I'll head out," he said. He looked at the folder. "I'll leave this here for you to look over. We can finish our conversation tomorrow when you get back to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said. She looked down at Lucy. "Lucy, I'm going to walk Uncle Albus to the door. Can you wait here for me?"

Lucy nodded. She moved off her mother's lap so she could get up and then sat back down. She looked over at Dumbledore and waved. "Bye bye, Uncle Albus."

"Goodbye, Lucy," Dumbledore said cheerfully as he and Minerva stood up and left the room.

Lucy sat quietly at the table, kicking her feet back and forth as she waited for her mother to come back.

Minerva walked Dumbledore to the door and gave him a small smile. "Sorry about cutting our meeting short, Albus."

"That's alright," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "We can finish it tomorrow. I will see you at Hogwarts, won't I?"

"Of course," Minerva replied. "Stay safe."

"I will. You too, Minerva," he said opening the front door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said. She watched him walk towards the gate for a second before closing the door and walking back towards the kitchen.

Lucy was standing by the kitchen sink using magic to get a glass out of the cupboard and get some water. Minerva smiled and watched the glass float down from the cupboard and into the sink under the faucet. Lucy made a small flicking motion and water came out of the tap filling the cup. When the cup was full, the water stopped and the cup floated out of the sink and into Lucy's outstretched hand.

"Good job," Minerva said, making Lucy jump slightly and almost drop the glass. Minerva smiled. "Are you using the spells from the books I gave you?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. She drank her water and then reached up to place the glass back on the counter. Minerva walked over to her and pushed the cup further away from the edge. "Alright, little one, you have school tomorrow so let's get you to bed."

Lucy took her mother's hand and they walked up the stairs. Minerva walked to her bedroom door and opened the door. She walked through but suddenly Lucy stopped in the doorway. Minerva looked down at her daughter. She didn't look at her mother. She just stared at the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Um... nothing, I - no, nothing," she whispered. She shook her head and walked into the room and over to the bed.

Minerva gave her a look. "Um, alright," she said. She reached over and picked Lucy up. She put her down on the bed and pulled the blanket up over her. "I'm going to change. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy whispered.

Minerva grabbed her clothes and moved to the bathroom to change, brush her teeth and wash her face. When she came back into the bedroom she heard Lucy breathing quick short breaths. Minerva walked to the bed and got in beside her.

"Are you alright, my love?" she asked with concern. Lucy shook her head and moved closer to Minerva. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close. "Shh... it's alright. We're okay."

There was silence for a while before Lucy said anything. Her voice was a little muffled as her face was buried in Minerva's chest. "It's been a really long time since I've come into this room," she whispered.

Minerva realized why Lucy had stopped in the doorway now. She gave Lucy a little squeeze. "I'm sorry, darling. We could move to your bedroom if you want."

"No, it's okay," she whispered.

There was another pause before she spoke again.

"Mommy?"

Minerva looked down at her daughter shocked. Lucy hadn't called her 'mum' or 'mommy' since she had come back home. She smiled and felt warmth fill her. She was so happy that Lucy was finally starting to forgive her and treat her like a mother again. "Yes, love?"

Lucy sniffed a little. "I miss Daddy so much."

"I know, sweetheart," Minerva said with a sigh, feeling sadness set in again. "I miss him too."

"Why did he have to go?" she whispered. Minerva could see the tears falling down her face. She moved a hand over to wipe them. "He was supposed to get better. He said he was - he was going to get better! But then he didn't... Why didn't he get better?"

"I - I don't know," Minerva whispered.

"I wanted him to stay. I needed him to stay."

"I know, love, I know. And you know that he would never have left by choice," Minerva said sadly, feeling tears in her own eyes now. "He wanted to stay here with you too. He loved you so much. He would never leave you."

"It's not fair."

"It isn't and I'm so sorry," Minerva whispered.

"When will it stop hurting?" Lucy asked. "I don't want to feel anything anymore."

"I know, darling," she replied soothingly. "I don't know how long it's going to hurt for but I know that he would want us to be strong and keep our heads up, right?"

"Yeah..." Lucy whispered.

"We'll be okay, darling," Minerva whispered, kissing her forehead. "We'll be okay."


	9. TLT -- 9

**_Monday, March 2nd 1998_**

"Ronald Weasley," Fabian Prewett said with a smile as he handed the little bundle to Minerva. "Came in late last night to meet us all."

Minerva smiled and took the sleeping baby from him. He had bright red hair like the rest of his family. She rocked him gently and moved the blue blanket around to cover him more properly. "He's a very handsome young man," she said.

"Much like his uncle," Gideon said with a bright smile.

"Yes, I am quite handsome aren't I?" Fabian said. Gideon gave him a look but he just smiled and stuck out his tongue very childishly at his twin brother.

Molly rolled her eyes. She was laying in bed in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. Arthur was standing beside it with a hand on her shoulder and Gideon was sitting by her feet. Fabian brought a chair over for Minerva to sit down, baby still in her arms before bringing over another for himself.

"So, how are you feeling?" Minerva asked Molly.

"I'm okay," she said with a smile. "I'm just glad he is happy and healthy."

"Six boys," Gideon said. "What do you have against girls, Mols?"

Molly smiled. "I would love to have a daughter but my little Ronny is perfect."

"Maybe I should bring the other children into meet their new brother. They're probably awake by now," Arthur said, though he made no move to leave his wife's side. Molly smiled, reached up and put a hand on his on her shoulder. She gave his hand a little squeeze.

"Where are the little scamps?" Fabian asked.

"Andromeda and Ted are watching them," Arthur replied.

"I can go get them for you," Gideon said. "You should stay here with your son."

"Thank you, Gideon," Arthur said with a smile.

"Not a problem," he said, standing up. "Coming Fabian?"

"Yes," Fabian replied, getting up too. The twins walk out of the Hospital Wing towards the classroom the other Weasley children were in.

"I should get going too," Minerva said, standing up. She walked over to the bed and gently held Ron out to his mother. "Let you all have your family moment."

"Thank you for coming by, Minerva," Arthur said.

"Of course," she said with a smile. "Congratulations once again, Molly, Arthur. I should really get going to class now."

"Thank you, Minerva," Molly said with a smile. "Have a nice day."

Minerva smiled and said her goodbyes. She made her way through the Hogwarts halls to her classroom. It was a lot more packed than it used to be. Young children were running around, adults were chatting in hushed whispers, students were sitting on benches talking quietly or doing homework.

The day past by quite slowly and really tired Minerva out. She thought about going up to her private quarters for a nap during her free period but was called in for a meeting with Dumbledore instead. The meeting did nothing to improve her day as she stared down at more names of Order members who were missing. By the end of her long day, Minerva felt emotionally and physically drained. All she wanted to do was curl up in her cat form and sleep. She left the castle, walked across the grounds and Apparated back to Rochester. Not feeling up to climbing up the stairs, she transformed into her cat form and curled up in an armchair in the living room. It didn't take long for her to drift off in the quiet Rochester living room.

"Thank you for the ride, Mrs. Linwood. See you tomorrow, Anne," Lucy called before climbing out of the car.

"Of course, sweetheart," Mrs. Linwood said with a smile. "Goodbye."

"Bye, Lucy!" Anne called.

They drove away and Lucy walked towards the gate. She punched in the code to open the gate and walked up the driveway. She hummed quietly to herself as she walked. A cool breeze washed over her causing her to shiver, even in the sunlight that beat down on her. It was the weird buffer season where it wasn't winter anymore but it was not yet spring either.

Lucy pulled out her key and unlocked the front door with a little mittened hand. Going inside she took of her boots, coat, mittens and scarf before taking her backpack with her to the living room. She threw the bag on the couch and ran off to the kitchen to find a snack. She grabbed an orange, came back to the living room and sat down on the couch to eat her orange. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television and flicked through the channels until she finally found something she could watch.

Suddenly Lucy saw something moving from the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw a tabby cat sleeping on the armchair a few feet away from her.

"Oh!" she said, getting up and walking over to the chair. "Mum's home."

She reached out a hand and slowly petted the cat. She thought for a second before getting up, grabbing the remote and turning the television volume down as not to disturb her mother. She then picked up a throw blanket and gently put it over the curled up cat. When she was sure the cat was okay she sat down on the floor and pulled out her books to do her homework.

Minerva woke up to find that she was under a blanket. She looked around and saw Lucy sitting on the floor doodling on a sheet of math homework. Lucy saw the movement from the corner of her eye and smiled at the cat.

"Hello!" she said excited, scrambling over to the armchair. "You got home early today. You beat me home."

Lucy picked up the tabby cat and Minerva meowed in protest. Minerva struggled but Lucy held her tightly. "It's okay. I know you like being petted even if you say you don't," she said with a smile. Lucy sat back down in front of her math homework and pet Minerva gently. "I was doing my math homework but I finished it so I drew you sleeping on the couch."

Minerva looked over and saw Lucy's drawing. It was quite good to be honest. She had drawn the armchair and a tabby cat on top of it. Little 'Z's came off the cat to indicate that the cat was sleeping. The drawing went over some of her math problems a little which made Minerva frown a bit.

"I didn't really have a very good day today," Lucy said, leaning back against the couch behind her, "but it's okay. I'm home now so I can do more fun stuff. I finished most of my homework at school while the teacher was talking. They don't really like it when I do that but if they're talking about something boring I have to do something."

Minerva turned her head up at her and gave her a look. Lucy laughed. "You don't like that?" she asked. "Well, you can't say anything because you're a cat right now."

Minerva finally got out of Lucy's grasped and jumped out of her lap. She started walking away when Lucy sighed.

"Oh, okay..." Lucy said sadly. Minerva turned back around and looked at her six year old. She sighed and walked back to Lucy, putting her head on her leg. Lucy smiled and pet the cat on her head. Minerva hopped back up and curled up in Lucy's lap. "Yay!"

Minerva smiled and meowed a little. Lucy smiled. She continued to pet her with one hand and doodling with the other. Minerva sat there for a while feeling pretty relaxed. Lucy did her other homework and watched television. When she finished, Lucy closed her books, picked up the cat and moved to the couch. She sighed as she pulled the cat close to her and petted her gently.

She yawned. "Anne and I had nothing to do at all during break today," she said quietly, "so we just laid in the grass and talked. It was fun, though. Until we had to move because... because stuff."

Minerva looked up at her and meowed questioningly.

"It's nothing," Lucy mumbled, looking away. "Oh, I got my essay on government back and I got a hundred percent!"

Minerva meowed approvingly.

"I'll show you later," Lucy said. She yawned again and laid back on the couch. She put Minerva down and she curled up next to her. "I'm tired. Are you tired?"

Minerva nodded a little, rubbing her head on Lucy cheek. Lucy giggled a little. "I like when you're a cat," she said quietly. "I wish we had a real cat. That stayed a cat all the time. Can we get one? Please?"

Minerva shook her head.

"Ahhh!"

Minerva shook her head again. They didn't need another cat and Minerva knew if they got one, it would be her taking care of it. Lucy definitely wasn't going to help very much.

Lucy yawned again and rubbed her eyes. She talked to Minerva for a little while longer before falling asleep. Minerva fell back asleep a little while later, curled up beside her.

"Lucy? Are you home?"

Lucy opened her eyes quickly and looked around. She rubbed her eyes and shook Minerva a little to wake her. "Ah, yeah," she said. "In the living room."

Minerva was about to transform back into herself but before she could, Raj walked into the room. He smiled at Lucy before noticing the cat and frowning.

"Where did you get a cat?" he asked.

"Ah..." Lucy looked down at Minerva with worry. She still felt a little groggy. She rubbed her eyes and tried to push through it so she could come up with a convincing lie. "I found her outside. It's cold so I let her in."

"Lucy, you know your mother said no pets," Raj said, shaking his head and walking over to the couch. He pet the cat and lifted its head slightly to check for a collar. "Looks like she's not wearing a collar. She might still be someone else's pet though and I'm sure that person is worried sick about her."

"I don't think so," Lucy said with a smile.

"You can't keep her," he said with a small smile, kneeling down in front of Lucy and putting his briefcase down beside him. "I'm sorry but you can't get a pet right now especially without talking with Minerva, Daniel and Nina first."

"Sorry," Lucy said. She yawned and rubbed her eyes again.

"Were you asleep?" Raj asked.

"I fell asleep on the couch," Lucy said. "Today was a long day."

Raj smiled. "It was a long day," he said, tousling her hair. He looked around and frowned suddenly. "Where is Minerva? She's here isn't she? She was supposed to get here early so that someone would be home to watch you."

"Ah, yeah," Lucy said, not wanting her mother to get in trouble. "She's here. I think she's upstairs in her room." Lucy got up and picked up the cat. "I'll put the cat outside since you don't want her here."

"Maybe she'll find her way back to her own home," Raj said, getting up and picking up his briefcase. "I'm going to go get changed. I hope the cat's gone before your mother notices it's here. She won't be very happy."

Lucy nodded. She waited for him to leave the room before racing towards the front door. She opened it, waited a couple seconds and then closed it again. She then ran up the stairs, looked around quickly to make sure Raj was in his room, and then ran into Minerva's bedroom. She set the cat down and Minerva transformed back into herself. Lucy looked at her for a second before bursting into laughter.

"That was so close!" she said between fits of laughter.

Minerva smiled and shook her head. "I'm not sure how much I like how good you are at lying," she said. "And at covering your lie."

Lucy smiled and walked over to bed. She jumped up onto the bed on her back and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I saved you from being thrown outside," she said. "Didn't I?"

"You did," Minerva said, walking over and sitting down on the bed beside her. She smiled and pushed some of Lucy's hair out of her face. "That was very close."

"Mum?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why can't we just tell Uncle Raj about magic?" Lucy asked. "Nina knows. Why can't Uncle Raj know too?"

Minerva sighed. "I wish we could. Life would be easier if we could but we're not supposed to tell anyone who doesn't justifiably need to know," she said. "That's what it says in the International Statute of Secrecy."

"Who justifiably needs to know?" Lucy asked.

"Significant others, like husbands and wives, family, like stepsons," she said. "I suppose Nina could be counted as a significant other. Even though she's Daniel's not one of ours."

"But Uncle Raj is our family," Lucy said, sitting up a bit. "I count him as my family."

Minerva smiled. "I know, love," she said. "But it's not the same."

Lucy frowned. It was the same to her. She didn't say anything else. She got up and sighed. Minerva put a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay," she said. "Now, come along. It's time for dinner."

* * *

 ** _Thursday, March 12th 1998_**

Lucy entered Rochester Mansion with a sigh. She threw her off backpack and it landed on the ground with a loud thud. The sound made Minerva walk into the entrance hall with a frown. She looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Wow," she said, "what's making your backpack so heavy?"

"Textbooks," Lucy mumbled, sitting down on the floor right in front of the door so she could pull off her shoes.

Nina walked into the house, awkwardly moved around Lucy, and closed the door behind her as well. She smiled at Minerva. "Hey, Min. How was your day?"

"It was alright," she replied with a smile. "How was yours, sweetheart?"

"It was good," she replied setting her keys down on the table.

"How about you, Lucy?"

"Eh," Lucy mumbled, getting back up, throwing her shoes on the shoe rack, and taking off her coat as well. After the coat was away in the closet, she leaned down to pick up her backpack with a grunt. "I have a big project due next week and so I had to bring my heavy textbooks home to do it."

Minerva smiled. "Well, are you going to get started right away then?"

"Ah, yeah... sure," Lucy said, in a voice that made Minerva sure that she was definitely not going to do her work until probably a day before it was due. "Right after I change my clothes, eat a Popsicle, maybe watch some TV."

Nina laughed and Minerva gave her a look. Lucy just smiled and headed for the stairs so she could go change out of her uniform. Minerva shook her head as she walked towards the kitchen with Nina.

"You really shouldn't encourage her procrastination," she said as she sat down at the table where she had been sitting before the two of girls arrived.

Nina laughed. "I'm not encouraging it," she said. "Lucy will get it done, don't worry."

Lucy came down to the kitchen a little later in her regular clothes. Nina opened the freezer, handed Lucy a Popsicle and took one for herself. She offered one to Minerva but she turned it down. Lucy sat down at the table next to Minerva to eat her Popsicle.

"So what is this big project you're doing?" Minerva asked her.

"It's for science. We have to research and make a presentation about something to do with the brain and perception," Lucy said. "I'm going to do it on synaesthesia."

"What's synaesthesia?" Minerva asked.

"It's so cool! It's when one sense is stimulated by another," Lucy said. "There are a bunch of different kinds. The most common one is Grapheme-Colour Synaesthesia. It's when a person sees certain letters or numbers with a certain colour."

"Like they might associate the letter 'J' with the colour red and so every time they see that letter written, they see it as red," Nina said. "It is really cool."

"That's interesting," Minerva said.

"Yeah, so I'm doing my project on that. Anne is doing her project on sight. She's researching -"

Lucy was interrupted by tapping on the kitchen window. She looked over to it and saw a small barn owl sitting on the window sill tapping the glass with its beak.

Nina looked over to it as well. "An owl?"

Minerva stood up but before she could say anything Lucy ran towards the window excitedly. She opened it up and the owl hopped in.

"Hello!" she said as the owl looked up at her. "It has a letter!"

"Yes, that's how wizards and witches send their mail. Through the owl post," Minerva explained, walking over to the window.

"That's so cool," Lucy said. She slowly unties the letter from the owl's leg. "Thank you, Mr. Owl."

The owl made a hooting noise before quickly flying out of the still open window. Lucy laughed and then looked down at the letter. It had her mother's name written on the back. Lucy held it out to Minerva. "It's for you."

"Thank you," Minerva said as she took the letter from Lucy.

"Who's it from?" Nina asked.

"Albus Dumbledore." Minerva recognised the writing right away. She ripped it open and read the small note inside.

 _Urgent. Come at once._

 _A.D._

Minerva felt her stomach turn. She quickly stuffed the note into her pocket and pulled out her wand. "Something's happened, I must go back to Hogwarts."

"What happened?" Lucy asked. She and Nina were both looking at Minerva with concern.

"I don't know," Minerva said, walking quickly from the room. Lucy quickly jumped down from the window sill and looked over at Nina who shrugged. They followed Minera over to the front door.

"Will you be back tonight?" Nina asked, sounding a little worried.

"I'm honestly not sure," Minerva replied as she put on her shoes. She looked up at Nina and Lucy. She knew she was probably scaring them but she didn't have any answers to give them. "I'm sure everything is fine," she told them reassuringly. "You two stay here, I'll send word if I won't be coming home later tonight."

"Alright," Nina said. "Stay safe."

"I will," Minerva said with a smile. She looked down at her daughter and kneeled in front of her. "Behave for Raj, Nina and your brother. I'll be back as soon as I can, alright sweetheart."

"B-but," Lucy whispered, coming closer to her mother. Minerva pulled her into a hug. "I don't understand..."

"I know, darling," Minerva said. "I'll explain better when I come back, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Goodbye, Lucy," Minerva said, standing back up.

"Bye," Lucy mumbled, still confused as to what was going on.

Minerva gave her one last smile before ducking out the door, walking down the driveway and Apparating to the outskirts of Hogwarts. She quickly transformed into a cat and ran across the grounds. Once she made it to the castle she ran up towards the Headmaster's office. She turned back into Human form and burst through the door without knocking. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, elbows on the desk, fingertips touching, looking very deep in thought. He did not smile when she entered. Instead he motioned for her to sit. Minerva closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"I was conducting interviews for the Divinations position earlier today," he began before Minerva could ask any questions. "One of the applicants had Seer's blood. Her great-great-grandmother was a seer. Her interview was not going very well however and I had very nearly given up on it when suddenly she changed and foretold a real prophecy."

"A real prophecy?" Minerva asked. "What did she say?"

"Yes a real prophecy. About the war," said Dumbledore. "She said, ' _Two shall work together to vanquish the Dark Lord. One, a witch, born half muggle, half magical... born through turmoil not long ago... with powers unlike any other... power not confined to a wand but surged through her whole body... and who would choose the winning side of the war. The other, a wizard, approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equals, but they have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._ '"

"Wow..." Minerva whispered. She unjumbled the mountain of words in her head and thought about them intensely. "Who could they be?"

"At the moment I am not sure," Dumbledore admits. "For the witch, I have some ideas but nothing fully formed yet. For the wizard, however... there are two possibilities, I would say."

"Who?"

"The Potter's son or the Longbottom's son. They both have a late July due date," he said, "and both have defied You-Know-Who on three separate occasions."

Minerva sighed and leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms and looked away. "If the wizard that is meant to defeat You-Know-Who is an infant, does that mean that the war may go on for many, many years?"

"I am afraid it may," Dumbledore replied sadly.

Minerva closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What about this witch?" she asked. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, considering the prophecy did not mention when this girl was born, I have to assume she has already been born," he replied.

Minerva nodded. "Which doesn't give us much to go on."

"Precisely," he said. "We will just have to wait to see."

* * *

 ** _Friday, March 27th 1998_**

"This is going to sound weird. Like I'm not complaining," Nina said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a cup of coffee, "but did Lucy sleep in one of your beds last night?"

Minerva looked up from her paper. She was sitting at the kitchen table drinking her own coffee. "No she did not."

"She didn't come to my room either," Raj said. He was sitting beside her at the table as well actually eating breakfast with them today. He had managed to get up at a reasonable time so that he could.

"Wow, really?" Nina said excitedly. "Because she didn't come to our room last night either which means she slept on her own! That's great!"

"I guess her nightmares have finally stopped," Raj said with a smile.

"That's wonderful!" Nina said. She sat down at the table next to Minerva and quickly added, "don't say anything. I don't want to embarrass her."

"We won't," Minerva replied with a smile. Just then Lucy and Daniel came into the kitchen for breakfast. Lucy wasn't wearing her uniform today. Minerva gave her a look. "Why aren't you dressed? Don't you have class in an hour?"

"Nope!" She said happily, taking a seat at the table while Daniel brought over a bowl for himself and her, cereal and milk. He set a bowl in front of her before sitting down and pouring cereal into his own bowl.

"Teacher's convection, so Lucy gets an extra day off," Daniel explained.

"Yeah, the teachers have to go to school but we don't!" Lucy said with a huge smile.

"Well, that hardly seems fair," Minerva said with a laugh.

Lucy shrugged. "They decided to be teachers."

"So, what do you plan to do on your extra day?" Raj asked with a smile.

"I'm going over to Anne's house," Lucy said happily as she took the cereal box from Daniel and began to fix up a bowl of cereal for herself.

"Mrs. Linwood offered to take her for the day so that we could go to our own classes and you guys could go to work without having to worry about Lucy," Nina said.

"That was nice of her," Minerva said.

"Yes, we should make sure to thank her properly when we get the chance," Raj said. He stood up. "I should head out. Have a nice day, all of you."

They all said goodbye to Raj and he headed for the door. The rest of them ate their breakfast for a while.

"Oh and what time are you going to be home tonight?" Daniel asked suddenly. "Nina and I were thinking of going to the movies tonight but someone has to be here to watch Lucy."

"I'll be home by five, if that's okay," Minerva said. "I have a meeting after classes end."

"Yeah, that's fine," Daniel said. "Movies not till seven but we were planning on getting dinner first."

"What movie are you going to see?" Lucy asked.

"The Big Lebowski," Nina replied. "It's supposed to be good."

"Alright, well, I'll be back by five," Minerva said. She folded up her paper and stood up. "I should head out too. Have fun at Anne's, Lucy. Tell her mother I said hello."

"I will," Lucy said. "Bye, Mum."

"Have a nice day, Min," Daniel said.

"See you tonight," Nina said.

Minerva smiled and said one last goodbye before leaving the house. She walked down the driveway down and out of the gate. She was about to get out her wand and Apparated to Hogsmeade when a voice came out of nowhere, making her jump. "So, are we supposed to follow Lucy to this Anne's house?"

"Black!" Minerva muttered. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, Professor," Sirius said with a laugh as he pulled the Invisibility Cloak off himself and James. "So, are we supposed to follow Lucy or should we follow Daniel and Nina? I would love to see what a muggle university is like."

"You two stay with the house, leave the kids alone."

"Hey, they won't know we're there," James said with a smile. "Besides, we're not that much older than them."

"Yeah, we're only like a year older than Daniel and Nina," Sirius said.

Minerva rolled her eyes, she pulled out her wand and said, "stay with the house. Don't do anything stupid."

With that she disappears. Sirius smirked. "Stupid, us?"

James laughed. "Stupid is a good word for describing you, not so much me."

Sirius smacked James's arm and got back under the Cloak. The two men walked through the gate and up to the house. "James, this mission is turning out to be a lot more boring than I thought it was going to be."

"You thought we would be protecting the house from swarms of Death Eaters every single day?" James asked with a smile.

"No... I don't know what I expected but sitting around all day was not what I thought," he mumbled.

James laughed. "You're an idiot. I thought you, being the lazy ass you are, you would like sitting around all day."

Sirius gave him a look. "Shut up," he said with a shake of his head. He sighed and looked up at the house. "Can we go into the house again, Prongs?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," James said. "We almost got caught last time."

"Yeah but this time everyone is leaving," Sirius replied with a smile. "So we can look around a lot more."

"I don't know, Padfoot..."

"Hey, come on. I wanna learn more about these kids and we're not allowed to talk to them so this is like the best option!"

"Best may not be the right word."

"But we'll do it?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"Fine," James mumbled, giving in. He was also quite curious about Minerva's children and would like to take a look around their rooms.

Lucy, Nina, and Daniel left a little while later. Lucy came out of the house and waited for Daniel to come out too. Daniel held the door open for Nina and then went to close and lock the door. Before he could however, Sirius used his wand to knock the keys out of his hands while the door was still open. He and James shuffled inside while Daniel fumbled for his keys.

Lucy laughed at him. "Smooth."

He gave her a playful glare and Nina laughed. He picked up the keys locked the door with James and Sirius inside. They waited a couple minutes but eventually heard the gate close behind Daniel's car and removed the Cloak. They got to work right away, looking through closets and shelves on the main floor. They found nothing too interesting so decided to move upstairs.

A lot of the rooms were guest bedrooms. Only four were being used by the family. They were the master bedroom where Minerva slept that James and Sirius had already looked through, Lucy's bedroom, Raj's bedroom and Daniel and Nina's bedroom. They decided to go into Raj's bedroom first.

This room had papers and files piled high on the desk and on the floor near it. Other than that it had a few suits hanging in the closet, shoes arranged nicely on the floor of it and a couple personal items in the bedside table drawer. The bed was made properly and everything but the desk was clean.

"Except for the desk, it looks like every other guest bedroom in this house," Sirius said.

"I guess he's just staying with them for a while because of what happened to their dad, you know," James said. "He has his own place in London. I heard them talking about it."

"Do you think it's weird?" Sirius asked as he walked towards the desk and picked up a file. "Just like being a guest in a house that he stays in like eighty percent of the time."

"I don't know," James said. "He doesn't seem to mind. He looks like he has a lot of fun playing in the back garden with Lucy or video games with Daniel. He doesn't seem weird."

"How long do you think this arrangement is going to last?" Sirius asked. "I mean, it's been months since it happened and the kids seem okay now."

"Who knows," James said.

"Collins Enterprises," Sirius said, reading the header of the first document in the folder. "That was the dad's company right?"

"Yep."

"Looks like he does a lot of work for it," Sirius said, motioning to the mess if folders. He sets the file down where he had picked it up and looked back at James. "This room doesn't have much. Let's move on."

James nodded and they left the room. They went into Daniel and Nina's room next.

"You know, I would have thought that McGonagall would be like super conservative and make them sleep in separate rooms," Sirius said with a smile as they walked into Daniel's room.

James laughed and shook his head. "I'm pretty sure McGonagall moved in here before she got married to Mr. Collins."

" _Mr._ Collins. So formal, James. Why not just call him Jay?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

James shrugged. "I don't know. It's just feels weird," he said. "I mean, we never met him. I don't feel right just calling him by his first name."

Sirius nodded. The two boys looked around Daniel and Nina's room. It was not as clean as Minerva or Raj's rooms had been. There were clothes piled on the back of the chair in front of the desk, papers scattered over the desk, books piled on the floor. The bed was made but it was done quickly and messily. They had a lot of comic books on their shelf and a few photographs on the wall. One of the shelves had trophies and awards crammed into it.

"Wow, this kid's done a lot," James said, moving some of the trophies around so he could read them. "Basketball, piano, football, tennis."

"Very accomplished," Sirius said with a smile.

"How does he even have time to do all this stuff? Look! He even has a trophies for playing pool! What is his life?"

"A lot of after school activities, I guess," Sirius replied.

They looked in the closet and found that all of Daniel's clothes had been pushed into one corner of the closet. Nina's clothes took up the rest of the space.

"Wow," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Looks like my closet at home," James muttered.

Sirius laughed. "You two are so whipped. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about that stuff."

"So, you're not going to get back with Marlene this time?" James asked sitting down on the bed as Sirius started looking through the desk drawers.

Sirius shrugged.

"You two are so annoying," James muttered, laying back on the bed. "You're together and then you're not and then you're together again and, oh nope, nevermind. You broke up in the middle of me saying that you were together again."

Sirius threw a pen at James, making him laugh. "What's the deal, man? Do you like her or not?"

Sirius shrugged again.

James threw the pen back at him. "That's not a good answer."

"I don't know, Prongs," Sirius mumbled with a sigh, putting the pen back in the desk drawer and turning to face him. "We can't all be as happy as you and Lily, I guess."

James sat up and gave him a look.

Sirius sighed and flopped down in the desk chair. "I do like her. I like her a lot but I'm not good at that stuff, you know. I don't know how to be a good... _boyfriend_. God, I hate that word. I'm not good at the romantic stuff. We get together because we're drunk or lonely or sad and then we break up because of something stupid we fought about."

"Maybe it'll be easier when the war's over," James replied with a sigh. "It'll be easier when you both don't have the pressure of the war on you all the time."

"Maybe," he mumbled. He stood up. "So what did we learn about these kids from our snooping?"

"He has rolled up Captain America, Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles posters in his closet," James said with a smile. "He has a lot of the comics too on his bookshelf. He's good at a lot of things, evident by the trophies."

"He's a nerd then," Sirius said with a laugh.

James shrugged. "She has some really fancy clothes in the closet. Probably Indian, they don't look like British muggle clothes."

He nodded. "They're very colourful."

"I wonder if she goes to a lot of parties," James said. "I would love to attend a party. It's been so long."

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "Maybe we can get an invitation from Nina when we actually meet her."

James smiled and got off the bed. "Should we go to the next room?"

Sirius nodded and followed James out of the room and into Lucy's. There were a lot of books, toys and trinkets all around the room. Sirius walked over to the dresser and picked up a small mahogany box. He turned it over and read the engraving on the bottom.

 _For my little ballerina_

 _Daddy_

Sirius turned it back over and opened it. The inside of the box was sectioned off and on the edge of the middle section a small ballerina wearing a pink tutu and in a pirouette position spun slowly. Music emanated through the room. James looked over at Sirius.

"What's that?"

"A music box," Sirius said, closing it up and putting it back exactly where he had picked it up. "Her dad gave it to her. She hasn't put anything in it though."

"Ah, poor kid," James said.

"Yeah," Sirius said. He turned around to look at James. "Did you find anything?"

"Eh, not really. I mean, I don't know what you keep expecting to find," he said with a laugh.

"I don't know, something to tell us about the person the room belongs to," Sirius said.

"Well, looking at this room I would say the person who lives in it is very tidy," James said. "She keeps her room very clean. Maybe a little anal retentive."

"Well, she is McGonagall's daughter," Sirius replied with a laugh.

"I would also say that she loves books and comic books," he said, pointing to the bookcase. "And globes."

Sirius looked at the collection of globes on the top shelf of the bookcase and smiled. He pointed at the giant map on the wall above her desk. "Maybe she wants to travel."

"I want to travel," James said.

"Yeah, see the world," Sirius replied with a smile.

"Go on adventures!"

Sirius laughed. "She also likes Wonder Woman and Batman," he said, pointing to the posters on the back of the door. "I think this is her little nerd corner."

James smiled. "All of the comic books are Wonder Woman comics."

"She also has a lot of trophies," he said, pointing to a shelf where she had crammed all her awards like Daniel had. She had dance trophies, writing trophies and piano and football trophies too. "I guess both of these kids do a lot of extracurricular."

"Well, this is a small, sleepy town. Not much else to do."

"It's definitely no London," Sirius said with a smile as he walked up to her bookshelf and picked up a box. He pulled it out and opened the cover.

"What's in there?" James asked.

"Ballet shoes, another box, photographs, a journal," Sirius said, looking through the box. He walked over to the bed and sat down. "Now this is something interesting."

"Don't read her journal," James said, walking over and looking into the box.

"Look," he said, picking up a photograph of Lucy in her ballet tutu with Minerva and Jay kneeling down on either side of her. They were all smiling wide and Minerva had her arms around Lucy. "Look how young McGonagall looks."

James laughed and picked up another photograph. "Look at this one, it's really old," he said, flipping the picture over so Sirius could take a look. It was a black and white photograph of a man shaking hands with Captain America. A few other soldiers and the rest of the Howling Commandos were standing around the two. "It must be from the war before Captain America died."

"Wow," Sirius said, taking the photograph from him. "That's so cool. Where do you think she found this?"

"Who knows," James said, picking up the small pink box and looking inside. There were a bundle of letters tied together with a ribbon. He looked at the names on the letters. "Oh man, that guy must be Jamal Collins. He must be her grandfather or something. He was probably a soldier in World War II. These are letters between him and Marie Collins who must be his wife."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Sirius said. "Their grandfather met Captain America!"

"It's cool that they have pictures and letters," James said as he gently put the letters back. "This box must be filled with all the stuff she wants to keep safe."

"She has the journal we saw in McGonagall's room," Sirius said, picking up the black journal and opening it up to make sure it was the same one.

"Minerva must have given it to her."

Sirius sighed and put everything back in the box properly. "Poor kid," he mumbled, putting the lid back on the box and getting up to put it back where he'd found it. "She's only six."

"I know," James said sadly. He shook his head and watched Sirius walk over to the bookshelf. Sirius put the box down. "We should go."

Sirius nodded and they walked out of the room. He and James walk down the stairs and exited the house. This was the last time they would do anything like that again.

Minerva came home at five like she had said she would. She was the first one home. She found Sirius and James and decided to send them home. After she bade them a farewell, she walked back inside and flopped down on the couch in the living room with a sigh. Minerva picked up the remote and clicked the power button. Lucy had showed her how to use it. Apparently they had gotten a newer, higher tech, television while she was gone. Minerva flicked through the channels, found a lot of shows that Lucy liked to watch, until finally finding the news. She listened to the news for a while before shaking her head and turning it off.

She heard the door open and Daniel's voice. "Hey, we're home."

"You three are late," Minerva said as Nina, Lucy and Daniel walked into the living room and said their hellos.

"Yeah, sorry. It's my fault," Nina said. "I needed to talk to one of my professors after class."

"That's alright," Minerva said. She looked over at Lucy who had sat down on the couch beside her. "Did you have fun at Anne's?"

"Yes!" Lucy said with a smile. "We got to hang out all day. We went to the park and watched The Aristocats and played some games. It was fun."

"That's nice," Minerva said with a smile.

Daniel and Nina left for dinner and a movie a little while later and Raj arrived back home a few minutes after they left with dinner. They decided to stay in the living room as they ate. They sat on the couches eating out of the take out boxes and talking. Minerva was happy to be home and away from the worry and stress of the war. She was so glad that she had a place to come back to and forget about the war for a while. Today had been very tiring and it was days like today that she really needed this. She listened to Lucy talk about what she was learning in school, Raj talk about work and just relaxed. Minerva wanted this to never end. Of course tomorrow morning she would go back to Hogwarts and be confronted with the disarray of the war but for now she could sit with her children and thank God she had come home.

Minerva and Raj's relationship was slowly improving. He seemed to be getting back to his normal goofy self around her. Minerva hoped that he was finally realizing that she was here to stay. After dinner Lucy ran upstairs to change into her pajamas leaving her and Raj alone in the living room. They got up and started cleaning up the take out boxes.

"I was thinking," Minerva said, "if you wanted to of course, next Friday Lucy will be gone on a sleepover with Anne and Daniel and Nina will be out all night so I was thinking that we could invite Amelia over for drinks."

Raj looked at her for a second before nodding. "That sounds nice," he said. "It's not going to be the same though."

"I know," she said with a sigh, "but I thought it might still be fun. Get our minds off everything, you know."

Raj nodded again and followed her towards the kitchen. "Minerva," he said. "I feel I owe you an apology."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Don't worry about it. I know that you were just trying to protect Lucy and Daniel."

"Still," Raj said. "I didn't have to be a complete asshole about it."

Minerva smiled a little and looked over at him. "You're not a complete asshole," she said as she opened the cupboard under the sink and threw the takeout boxes away. "Just a sometimes asshole."

"Well, as long as I wasn't a complete asshole then," Raj said with a laugh. "The custody thing was stupid. I shouldn't have done that. I was just worried and I didn't want Lucy to be taken away from us. It was stupid."

"It was," Minerva said with a little laugh. "It's okay. I forgive you. Do you forgive me?"

"You have nothing to apologize to me for," he said. "Everyone you needed to apologize to has forgiven you."

"I have a lot to apologize to you for, Raj," she said. "You were here taking care of my family while I wasn't here and I apologize for that."

He nodded. "You don't have to," he said after a moment. "All I really need from you is a real answer. I know you weren't away for two years without any contact at all because of your work as a teacher."

Minerva sighed. She took this as him still not forgiving her. She debated telling him everything. About magic and the war but before she could make her decision the doorbell rang.

Minerva looked over at the clock and frowned. It was quite late for visitors. "Who could that be?"

"Someone who has the gate code," Raj said as he walked towards the door.

They heard thundering footsteps running to the front door. "I'll get it, I'll get it," Lucy called as she raced towards the entrance.

Minerva sighed. She really needed to talk to Lucy about opening the door at night without her or Raj there with her. She and Raj walked into the entrance hall as Lucy opened the door.

"Hello, Aunty Amelia!" Lucy said happily.

"Hello, Lucy," Amelia replied. "I'm sorry for dropping by uninvited so late but I really need to speak to your mother."

Lucy opened the door further and let Amelia in. Raj and Minerva walked over to greet her. Amelia's nose and eyes looked a little red and she looked a little flushed.

"Hello, Amelia," Raj said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said as she took off her shoes and coat. "Minerva, I have some things I really need to discuss with you."

Minerva nodded. "We can talk in the office," she said. "Lucy, it's almost time for bed. Why don't you head upstairs to your bedroom?"

Lucy looked at Minerva and Amelia with a frown and was about to object when Raj spoke first. "Come on, Princess," he said. "Let's leave your mother and Aunt Amelia to get their work done. We can go do something fun up in your room until you have to go to bed."

He held out his hand for her. Lucy looked at her mother for a second before sighing and taking his hand. She said goodnight and walked up the stairs with Raj. Minerva mouthed a thank you to Raj as he walked by. He just gave a little nod.

Minerva turned back to Amelia and motioned for her to follow. She led the way to the office and opened the door. To Minerva's surprise Amelia sat down in front of the desk instead of behind it. She walked around and sat down at the desk.

"Alright," she said. "What brings you here, Amelia?"

"I'm afraid that I don't come with good news, Minerva," Amelia said with a sigh. "It seems I never bring you good news."

"What's happened?" Minerva asked with a frown.

Amelia sighed and looked away. "Fabian and Gideon... they - they were on a mission for the Order and they ran into a group of Death Eaters led by Antonin Dolohov..."

"Oh no... Amelia," Minerva whispered.

"It was fifteen on two," Amelia spit angrily.

"Fifteen on two?" Minerva asked furrowing her brow. Amelia nodded. Minerva stood up quickly. "Fifteen on two! Of all the cowardly, spineless -"

"Minerva..." Amelia whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.

Minerva took a deep breath and tears filled her own eyes. She looked back at Amelia and shook her head. "They were so young, Amelia..."

"I know," she whispered. "I know."

"They were... they had... everyone's dying."

"I know."

Minerva flopped back down on the chair and wiped her face. "Fifteen on two."

There was silence for a long time. Neither of them spoke. They sat there thinking of the two young men who laid their lives down for this war. Thinking of all the men and women who had done the same. Everyone who was gone. Everyone who had been killed.

Just then there was a knock on the office door. Minerva quickly wiped the new tears off her face and took a deep breath before inviting whoever it was in. Amelia wiped her face too.

Raj opened the door and looked inside. Daniel was standing behind him. He and Nina must have just gotten back from their movie.

"Everything alright?" Raj asked.

Amelia turned and looked at him with a small smile. "Yes," she said. "We're fine, thank you."

"Well, Lucy's in bed but she refuses to go to bed until Amelia comes up and talks to her," he said. "Also, Daniel and Nina are back."

"Hey, Amelia," Daniel said, giving her a little wave.

"Hello, Daniel," she said. She stood up. "Well, if Lucy's waiting just for me I better go talk to her."

She got up and Raj and Daniel moved so she could walk passed them. Raj looked at Minerva with a frown.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Minerva said, giving him a very unconvincing smile. She played with some random papers on the desk. "I just need a few minutes to finish this."

"Alright," he said with a nod. "I'll leave you be."

Raj looked at Daniel who told him he needed a minute. Raj nodded and walked away while Daniel walked into the office and closed the door behind him.

"Was this about the war?" he asked softly.

Minerva sighed and nodded, feeling a fresh wave of tears welling up. He sighed and walked over to sit down in front of her.

"What happened?"

She gave him a look.

"I want to know," he said. "It's my world too now. I have a sister and a... you, in it. So I want to be informed."

She gave him a small smile. "A me?"

"I'm sorry... I still don't know what to call you," he said with a little laugh. "But we can discuss that later. Tell me about this now. Tell me everything."

Minerva took a deep breath and launched into everything that had happened so far, starting long, long ago. She told him about the rise in Anti-Muggleborn ideas, the rise of the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. She told him about giants and werewolves sacking muggle villages. She told him about everyone who had died. Amelia's parents and grandparents, Hogwarts professors, muggles, Ministry workers, Aurors, friends. She told him about the Order of the Phoenix and the support that they were getting from the international wizarding community. She ended her story on Fabian and Gideon Prewett. She told him about their sister Molly and the rest of the Weasleys. She cried a lot and he moved so he could put a hand on her shoulder. She pulled him into a hug and he tried his best to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I - I wish I knew what to say."

She pulled away and wiped her face. "It's okay, Daniel. I just... you've already done more than enough. I think coming home and being with you all and just forgetting about the war for a little while is the only thing keeping me sane right now."

"I'm glad you came back," he said. "I don't think you should try to go through all this alone."

She smiled and put a hand on his cheek. "You are such a wonderful young man. So much like your father."

He smiled. "I try."

She laughed through her tears and shook her head. "So much like your father."

Amelia went up the stairs and ran into Nina in the hallway in front of her bedroom door. Nina saw her and smiled.

"Oh, hello, Amelia," she said. "Uncle Raj told me you were here."

"Hello, Nina," Amelia said. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you for asking," she said with a smile. "Lucy's still up waiting for you. Said she couldn't go to sleep without talking to you first."

Amelia smiled. "I'll go talk to her," she said. "I'm sorry for keeping her up so long past her bedtime."

"That's alright," Nina said with a laugh. "Oh, will you be staying the night tonight? I can fix up a room for you."

"No, no, don't trouble yourself," Amelia said.

"It's no trouble."

"That's alright, Nina. I should get home tonight. I'll have to go into work early tomorrow," Amelia said with a smile. "Have a good night."

"Goodnight," Nina said.

Amelia walked towards Lucy's door while Nina went into her own bedroom. Amelia knocked on the door and heard a little voice say, "come in."

Amelia opened the door and smiled at Lucy. She was laying on her bed reading a comic book waiting for her aunt.

"Hi! I thought you might not come," Lucy said, sitting up and putting her book down.

Amelia smiled. "Of course I came," she said, closing the door behind her and walking to sit down on the bed in front of Lucy. "You asked me to come so I came."

"What were you talking with Mum about?"

"Oh just some boring stuff. You wouldn't be interested," Amelia said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Uncle Raj said that you and Mum had work to do but you don't work at Hogwarts," Lucy said. She thought for a minute. "I didn't think you did."

"No," Amelia said with a smile. "I'm a judge on the Council of Magical Law but I would like to eventually become part of the Wizengamot, the highest court of law in our world, and maybe eventually become Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Wow," Lucy said. "I like law. I think I might become a lawyer when I grow up."

"Really? That's wonderful," Amelia said. She put a hand on her heart. "Following in your aunt's footsteps."

Lucy laughed. "Um, so, if you don't work with Mum at Hogwarts and you guys were just talking about boring stuff," she said, "why did you come so late at night?"

Amelia raised an eyebrow at her. "Hmm, I think you may be a little too smart for your own good, little one."

"I'm in year seven, Aunty Amelia. I am smart," Lucy said. She frowned and crossed her arms. "And I know that something is going on but no one wants to tell me what that is."

Amelia sighed. "What do you know?"

"I know that Mum has a lot of meetings for someone who's just a teacher and that she comes home very tired all the time. I know that the Headmaster of Hogwarts comes here for late night meetings with Mum and that she was talking with _Nani_ and Aunt Daisy really quietly so no one else could hear when we were in Scotland for Christmas. And I know that everyone I've met from the Wizarding World pretends to be happy when they're actually sad. I know that you're doing it right now."

Amelia raised an eyebrow at her again. "Wow, you are very observant," she said. "Maybe you should think about becoming a detective."

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, not letting Amelia distract her. "Why is everyone sad?"

"We're not sad... we're just... I don't know, sweetheart. It's just not a very good time in the Wizarding World right now," Amelia said.

"That's what Mum said. Times are tough," Lucy replied. "But why are they tough?"

 _Great_ , Amelia thought. She had wanted to avoid the hard stuff. This was not avoiding the hard stuff. What could she tell this little girl? That people were dying? That the Wizarding World was in shambles? No. This was a six year old girl who had just lost her father a few months ago. She couldn't tell her about the war. Lying felt like a good option. Parents do it all the time, right? She didn't know, she wasn't a parent and this right here was why.

Amelia sighed and took Lucy's hand in hers. "Okay, Lucy. I'm not going to talk to you like a baby. Times are tough. It's hard to understand why. It's hard for adults to understand why. We're trying to figure it out and I wish that I could give you a better answer than that but that's all I've got."

Lucy frowned but nodded. She thought for a minute before asking, "is it like the Great Depression? I read about it in one of Daniel's old textbooks."

Amelia smiled. "Kind of," she said. The depression part, definitely. Though this was very much more like what came right before the Great Depression. You're a really smart kid."

"Thank you for talking to me like a grown up," she said. "Everyone treats me like a baby because I'm small. Even at school. My teachers still talk to me differently than other students, even though I have the highest marks in all my classes."

"Some people don't understand," Amelia said with a small smile. "They're no fun but I will always treat you like an adult. I don't like it when people condescend to children."

"Me neither," Lucy said with a smile.

"Also, if you're really interested in law, next time I come over I can bring you some of my old law books," she said.

"Really? That would be awesome! Thank you."

"Of course," Amelia said with a smile. "I would love to inspire someone to come into my field."

Lucy smiled. She got up and hugged her. Amelia smiled and hugged her back.

"Well, love, I should probably get going and you should probably get to sleep. I can already see a lecture from your mother for keeping you up too late in my future."

Lucy laughed. "Okay," she said, getting back into bed. "Goodnight, Aunty Amelia."

"Goodnight, love," she said, getting up and giving Lucy a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.

Amelia walked down the stairs and found Minerva and Daniel still in the office. She said goodbye to them and they also invited her to stay the night but again she declined. She told them that she could show herself out and headed for the door.

"You're leaving?" Raj asked, walking into the entrance hall from the kitchen as she put her shoes on.

Amelia looked up and smiled a little. "Yes," she said. "It's quite late. I should head home."

"It's too late to be driving for an hour into London," he said. "Why don't you stay the night?"

Amelia shook her head. "No, I really need to go," she said. "I have to go into work early tomorrow. I have a lot to do."

"Still working weekends, I see," he said. "That hasn't changed much."

She smiled and shook her head as she walked over to the closet and pulled out her coat.

"I won't ask what you and Minerva were talking about," he said, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms, and watching her put on her coat, "because I don't expect either of you to give me a straight answer but I did notice that you were both crying so I hope that everything is okay."

"We're okay, don't worry," Amelia said, not looking at him.

Raj didn't say anything. He just watched her.

Amelia zipped up her coat, looked up and smiled at him. "Well, I should head out," she said. "It was nice seeing you, Raj. Sorry again for dropping by so late."

"That's alright," he said. "You're always welcome here."

She smiled, said goodbye and headed out. Raj locked the door behind her and headed upstairs to his own bedroom. He noticed Lucy's bedroom light still on and walked over to it.

"You're still awake?" he asked, opening the door and looking over at the bed. To his surprise, Lucy was not awake. She was fast asleep with her blanket half off the bed and her comic book on her arm. Raj smiled and quietly walked towards the bed. He picked up the comic, a Wonder Woman one of course, and set it down on her bedside table. He fixed the blanket around her before walking back to the door, turning off the lights and leaving the room.


	10. TLT -- 10

_**August 1991**_

 _Minerva stormed back towards the bench where Amelia was sitting with her arms crossed. She huffed and sat down angrily. Amelia sighed and asked, "What did they say?"_

" _Wait_ _," Minerva muttered with disdain, leaning back against the wall and staring straight ahead. "That's all they ever say! I need real answers. Real explanations and real instructions! Is that too much to ask for?"_

" _I understand, Minerva, but -"_

" _I saw so many new mothers leaving the hospital the same day that we did carefully carrying their little bundles when all I had was my bloody suitcase!" she continued. "I felt awful. Like I wasn't a new mum. You can't be a new mum without a child to take care of."_

" _You are a new mother," Amelia said, giving her a reassuring smile though Minerva was still not looking at her. "You have to deal with a lot right now so it makes complete sense that you don't feel that great. You're allowed to not be okay, Minerva."_

" _It's hard to let yourself not be okay, Amelia. Especially when other people need you to be for them," Minerva said with a frown, still not looking at her. She sighed and let her arms fall to her side. "Two and a half months." The words came out as no more than a whisper. "Two and a half months early."_

 _There was silence for a while. Minerva could hear the beeping of medical equipment in the NICU in front of them. She had been hearing that noise for about two weeks straight now and was starting to lose her mind. She knew her baby needed those machines but she still hated them. She hated the way they looked, the way they sounded, the wires that came off of them and crept their way into little Lucy's arms and chest. Lucy needed them to survive but Minerva needed her not to need them._

" _I think that you and Jay should take a break," Amelia said, breaking the silence finally. "Leave the hospital for a while. Go to dinner or even just a walk around Hyde Park or something. Anything to just get your mind off of everything for a little while."_

" _I can't leave!" Minerva exclaimed, finally looking over at her with a horrified expression on her face. "What if something horrible happens and I'm not here? What if she needs me? What if... I - I can't leave."_

" _Nothing's going to happen," Amelia reassured her. "It's okay to give yourself a break every once in a while, Minerva. Sitting at her bedside twenty four seven isn't going to do you any good."_

 _Before Minerva could respond, Jay and Daniel walked over. Jay was holding three cups of coffees in his hands. He greeted them and handed out the coffees before sitting down beside Minerva, putting an arm around her, and pulling her close. Daniel sat down beside Amelia with his own cup of hot chocolate in hand._

" _I was just telling Minerva," Amelia said, "that the two of you should take a break. You've both been here every day since the fifteenth. You should go out. Get your mind off everything for a little while."_

" _And I was just telling Amelia," Minerva said with a frown, "that I can't do that."_

" _We have to stay here," Jay said with a sigh and a shake of his head, agreeing with his wife. "Just in case Lucy needs us."_

" _Isobel will be back from Castletown soon and Daniel and I will be here, right sweetheart?" Amelia said, looking over at Daniel._

 _He smiled and nodded. "We can take care of Lucy," he said. "And Aunt Amelia can send you a message using -" he lowered his voice, "-_ _magic_ _if anything happens."_

" _Yes," Amelia said with a smile and a nod. She reached out and put a hand on Minerva's arm. "You need to let yourself relax for a little while, you both do. You can't live at this level of tension all the time. Lucy will be okay and if anything changes we will send word right away and you can get back here quickly."_

 _Minerva stared at her for a long time without saying anything. Jay sighed again but nodded this time. He knew what Amelia was saying was true. He and Minerva were killing themselves, sitting by Lucy all the time, making sure she was okay. Lucy's condition hadn't changed in the two weeks they've been here and he doubted it would in the next few hours._

" _You're right, Amelia," he said. He looked down at Minerva. "We won't go anywhere too crazy or stay out for too long. We could just go out for dinner. Have some real food instead of this hospital rubbish."_

" _I think that's a good idea," Amelia said with a smile. She knew she had won now that she had gotten Jay on his side. "Please, Minerva. Take some time for yourself. You've given Lucy a hundred and ten percent every single day since she was born which is great but you're going to burn yourself out if you don't take a little bit of time to recuperate every once in a while."_

" _Are you sure that you'll be okay here without us?" Minerva asked, looking passed Amelia at Daniel, grasping for excuses now._

" _Of course," he said with a smile. "Aunt Amelia's here with me,_ _Nani_ _will be back soon and Uncle Raj is coming by later too."_

 _"We'll be okay, Minerva," Amelia said. "Go, have a nice time with your husband and forget about your anxiety for a little while. We'll be here to make sure Lucy is okay."_

 _Minerva looked between the two of them, then over at the NICU with a sigh, and then looked over at Jay who gave her a reassuring smile. "Fine," she said finally. "We'll go out. Just for one hour. To a restaurant close by."_

" _Great," said Jay with a small smile, getting up. "Well, what restaurant would you like to go to, darling?"_

 _Minerva just shrugged._

" _Alright, we could just go walk down Praed Street until we find something nice," he said, offering Minerva his hand to help her up. She took it and he pulled her up to her feet._

" _I've heard that Bizzarro is good if you want Italian," Amelia suggested. "Close by too."_

" _That sounds perfect," Jay said with a smile. "What do you say, Min?"_

" _Alright," Minerva muttered with a sigh. She looked over at Daniel. "I'm sorry we're going out to eat while you get only hospital food."_

" _That's okay," Daniel said with a laugh. "It's not that bad."_

" _We'll bring you back a nice dessert, bud," Jay said with a smile, reaching over and tousling his son's hair._

" _Thank you for staying with him, Amelia," Minerva said._

" _Of course," she said with a smile. "I'll wait for Isobel and then bring dinner for the three of us from the cafeteria."_

 _Minerva nodded again. She and Jay said their goodbyes and headed towards the elevator to go down to the main floor._

 _When they were gone, Amelia turned to Daniel. "Shall we go check on the baby?"_

 _Daniel nodded and got up. They walked into the NICU and over to Lucy's room. Lucy was still laying in the incubator not doing very much. Daniel walked up to it and pressed his face against the glass._

" _She's not growing," he said._

" _I know," Amelia said with a sigh._

" _When will we be able to take her home?"_

" _When she starts growing."_

 _Daniel backed up a bit and moved to the table by the incubator. He picked up the comic book on the table, walked back and pulled a chair up for himself. He had been reading to Lucy in hopes that it would help her get better. He would read the speech bubbles and then describe the pictures for her. Amelia smiled and pulled up her own chair so that she could listen to the story as well._

 _Isobel arrived a little bit later. She had gone back to Castletown to check up on the house and inform some of her friends where she had disappeared to. She was happy to hear that Minerva and Jay were taking a little bit of a break from everything. She sat down and Amelia went to get the three of them dinner._

 _As they were eating the door to the nursery opened again and in walked Raj. He smiled at them as he entered._

" _Hi, all," he said cheerfully. "How's the little one doing?"_

" _Uncle Raj!" Daniel said excitedly. "Lucy hasn't changed at all. We've just been talking to her and I'm reading her Batman comics."_

" _Not sure how age appropriate that is," Isobel said with a shake of her head though she smiled. "Hello, Raj."_

" _Isobel, Amelia," he said with a smile, pulling up a chair and sitting down with them. "How are you both? Where are Jay and Minerva?"_

" _We're fine," Amelia replied. "Jay and Minerva decided to finally take a little bit of a break. They went out for dinner on Praed Street."_

" _Great!" Raj said. "I'm guessing that took a lot of convincing."_

" _It did," Amelia said with a nod._

 _Raj nodded knowingly. He knew his friend and his wife. He looked over at Daniel and gave him a smile. He reached over and tousled his hair a bit. "And they left you behind, bud?"_

" _Yeah," Daniel said with a laugh. "But it's okay. They said they would bring me back some dessert."_

" _That's good," he said with a smile. He pulled his chair a little closer to the incubator and looked down at the baby. "Hello, Princess Lucy. How are you doing today? It's me, Uncle Raj. Your favourite."_

" _Ah, excuse me," Amelia asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think I'm her favourite."_

" _No," he said with a shake of his head. He looked back at Amelia and flashed her an annoying smile. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, Amelia, but it is me. I'm her favourite. Not you. Right, Daniel?"_

 _Daniel looked up at his uncle and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "She can't talk yet so she hasn't said who her favourite it."_

 _Raj laughed and shook his head. "Oh, I don't need her to talk to know that it's me," he said. "I'm the fun one right?"_

" _Aunt Amelia is pretty fun too," Daniel said._

" _Yes, I am," Amelia said with a smile. "I'm definitely her favourite. I am her godmother after all."_

 _Isobel rolled her eyes though she smiled. "You always pull out that card."_

" _Well, it's true," she said with a smile._

" _Well, I'm her god_ _father_ _," Raj replied. "And Daniel's too! So, I'm obviously the favourite."_

" _It's a shame really. You had two chances and have fallen short both times. I'm Lucy's favourite, obviously, and Daniel's too."_

" _No way. You haven't even been here as long as I have! I've known Daniel since he was born, you can't top that no matter how hard you try."_

 _Daniel sighed and looked over at Isobel who gave him a small smile as Raj and Amelia kept fighting. Isobel was just glad that Robert wasn't here too. He would definitely join the fight. He thought he was Lucy's favourite too._

" _Now they're fighting over me," he mumbled with a shake of his head._

 _Isobel laughed and shook her head too. "They're a little crazy," she said. "They just like each other, that's all."_

" _That's them liking each other?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow._

" _Sometimes when people like each other they act like that."_

" _Really? Where Min and Dad ever like that?"_

" _No, it's mostly when they like each other but they don't want to admit it," Isobel said._

" _Why don't they want to admit it?" Daniel asked confused._

 _Isobel shrugged. "I think they're just scared that the other person doesn't like them back."_

" _But you just said that they both like each other. "_

" _Yes," Isobel said with a smile and a nod. "Sometimes you don't see it though. Sometimes it's just easier for others to see."_

" _I still don't really get it," Daniel said._

" _I think it's more of something you feel than something you get."_

" _That doesn't make sense," he mumbled. "Is this one of those things that adults say you'll understand when you're older?"_

" _I honestly don't think you'll get it when you're older either," Isobel said with a laugh._

" _Well, that's stupid," Daniel said with a frown. He shook his head, opened her comic book back up and turned back to Lucy. "I'm just going to go back to reading to Lucy."_

" _Alright," Isobel said with a smile, watching Amelia and Raj continue to argue about who Lucy and Daniel prefer for a second longer before turning and looking at the pictures in Daniel's book while he read._

 _..._

" _It's a nice day," Jay said, trying to start up some conversation as he and Minerva walked down Praed Street towards the restaurant. Minerva hadn't said much since they left the hospital._

" _Hmm," she mumbled._

 _Jay sighed and put an arm around her. "It'll be okay, love," he said. "Just try not to think about it for a little while. It's okay to take some time for yourself."_

" _How can you be so confident?" Minerva asked looking up at him in disbelief. "How can you be so sure that everything will be okay? What if it's not, Jay? I can't pretend that it's going to be because if it isn't, I'm not going to be able to live with myself."_

 _Jay gave her a reassuring squeeze. "You're the one that's supposed to have faith, Minerva," he said with a little smile. "Mrs. Daughter and sister of Reverends."_

 _She gave him a look._

" _Sorry," he said. He sighed and shook his head. "I know it's hard, Min, but, though I may not have as much faith in that kind of stuff as you all, I do have faith in our doctors and modern medicine. And I have faith in our daughter. She's strong, I know she is, and she's going to fight this. I believe she will."_

 _Minerva sighed and leaned into his chest. He gave her another little squeeze. They finally made it to the restaurant and made an agreement to talk about anything other than the baby until they got back to the hospital. The pact worked and Minerva and Jay both got to relax a little bit after working at such a high stress level for the past two weeks. After dinner they went for a little walk on the streets nearby and then went back to the hospital where they found Amelia, Raj, Daniel and Isobel waiting for them._

* * *

 _ **Saturday, April 18th 1998**_

"I'm glad you four could make it," Minerva said with a smile as the Potters, Sirius and Marlene walked in through the door.

"Of course, Professor! Wouldn't miss it for the world," James said with a smile.

"Thank you for inviting us over," Lily said. She was six months pregnant now and getting a lot bigger. "I haven't been out of the house in a while and I haven't talked to any other adults in a while."

Minerva smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Augh," she mumbled with a sigh. "Being pregnant is hard."

"I know," Minerva said. "Alright, let's not stand around in the doorway."

"What do you mean you haven't talked to any adults? Marlene and I just came over yesterday," Sirius said, following Minerva further into the house. He was holding Marlene's hand as he walked.

"I meant what I said," Lily replied. She and James walked after them.

Marlene laughed. "It's okay," she said. "I don't want to be an actual adult."

Minerva led them to the living room and they sat down on the couches.

"So where is Lucy, Daniel and Nina?" Lily asked. "I'm excited to finally meet them. All I know about them is what these two creeps have told me."

"Yeah," Marlene said. "From what I've been told, they sound wonderful. I would love to actually meet them."

Minerva smiled. "Oh, Lucy should be home soon," she said, looking over at the clock on the wall. "She was at a friend's house. They're giving her a ride home. Unfortunately, Daniel and Nina won't be home until tomorrow. They went out with some friends. Going to some concert in London, I believe, to celebrate the end of exams."

Lily smiled. "Ah the end of the semester. Always a fun time."

"So Remus, Dorcas and Peter are also coming?" James asked.

"Remus and Dorcas are. Peter was busy, something to do with helping his mother with something," Minerva said.

"Yeah, he's been with her quite often since the death of his father," Sirius said sadly.

There was silence for a while until Minerva finally spoke again. "Albus will also be coming."

"Really? I haven't seen Professor Dumbledore is a really long time," Lily said.

The group talked for a while longer before the doorbell rings. Minerva got it and greeted Remus and Dorcas at the door. She led them to the living room where they sat and talked until Minerva heard the lock on the door click and Lucy call, "I'm home!"

"Hello, Lucy," Minerva said, "we're in the living room."

After a few seconds Lucy walked into the living room to find the guests sitting there staring at her. She stopped in her tracks and gave a shy little wave. "Hi..."

"Hello, Lucy! I'm James Potter," James said, holding out his hand for Lucy to shake. Lucy walked over to the couch slowly and nervously shook James hand. "We've actually met when you were very small. You probably don't remember."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said, bowing her head slightly.

James laughed. "That's alright."

"Hi, Lucy. I'm Lily, James's wife," Lily said, shaking Lucy's hand too. Lucy gave her a small smile.

"I'm Marlene McKinnon," Marlene said, shaking Lucy hand as well. "This is guy with the messy hair is my boyfriend, Sirius."

"My hair isn't messy," Sirius said, making Lucy giggle. "It's styled the way I want it." He shook her hand and said, "Hey, kid."

Remus shook his head but smiled. He reached out to shake Lucy's hand as well. "I'm Remus Lupin. How are you?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said, shaking his hand. She walked over to the last new person in the room.

"I'm Dorcas Meadowes," she said, shaking her hand too. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Lucy replied. She saw the bright red at the ends of Dorcas's hair and smiled. "I like your hair."

"Thank you," Dorcas said with a smile.

Lucy ran over to her mother. Minerva smiled at her and moved over so she could sit down next to her in the armchair. Lucy climbed up and looked at the faces still watching her.

"So you were at a friend's house, Lucy?" Lily asked.

Lucy nodded.

"What did you do?"

"Um, we watched the movie Aladdin... we both had seen it before but we wanted to watch it again and sing along with the songs," Lucy said quietly, looking down at her hands. "Do you know that movie? I know a lot of wizards and witches don't watch movies very much."

"Yeah, a lot of them don't but I have seen that movie," Lily said with a smile. "I love Disney movies."

"So do I," Dorcas said. "And I'm pretty sure Marlene does too. I've made her watch like all of them."

"Yes," Marlene said with a laugh. "I've seen literally all of them because of Dorcas here. They're good. I liked them."

"Me too," Lucy replied with a smile.

"I think I've seen that one," James said. He looked over at his wife. "Is that the one with the blue guy?"

"Yes," Lucy replied with a laugh.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Sirius said.

"I have not seen it either," Remus said with a smile. "What's it about?"

Lucy smiled and went into the story of Aladdin for Remus and Sirius. They listened to the story intently, very interested in this mysterious Aladdin guy who was apparently a diamond in the rough. Minerva smiled. She was glad that Lucy was getting along very well with her old students.

After Lucy was done explaining the story of Aladdin the adults began talking about other things and Minerva suggested Lucy play with some of her toys. Lucy got up and walked away with a sigh. She wished there were people her age here as she opened up a cabinet filled with games and toys. She pulled out the Lego set that she had been building and got started on it.

The adults talked for a while and Lucy played with her toys until the doorbell rang. Lucy looked over excitedly. "I'll get it!" she said as she ran from the room.

Minerva looked over at Sirius. "Do you mind going with her?"

"Not at all," he replied with a smile, getting up and following after Lucy.

They came back a couple minutes later with Dumbledore. Lucy was walking beside him excitedly telling him about her day with Anne. "And then after Aladdin we made cookies with her mum. They were chocolate chip and they were really good."

"That sounds fun," Dumbledore said with a smile. He looked at everyone sitting on the couches. "Good evening everyone."

"Hello, Albus," Minerva greeted with a smile.

Dumbledore joined the conversation and Lucy went back to sitting on the floor with her toys. Eventually they got up to go to the kitchen. Lucy got up and followed them too. Minerva flicks her wand and got everyone but Lily and Lucy a drink of whiskey. Lily wanted just water and Lucy got apple juice. Lily, James and Marlene sat down at the table while Sirius, Remus, Dorcas and Dumbledore stood around the island talking and Minerva checked on the food. Lucy walked around the counter to her mother.

"Do you need any help?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, if you could set the table, darling, that would be wonderful," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy nodded and looked around the room. She counted nine heads including herself and walked towards the plate cupboard. Dumbledore watched as Lucy used magic to get plates, utensils, and glasses to fly out of the room and presumably set themselves on the dining table in the next room. She then walked to the dining room herself to look at where the things had landed and frowned.

"That's not where you're supposed to go," Lucy told the plates and silverware that were scattered across the table now. "Please do it properly."

The plates began to move first, each setting themselves in front of a seat at the table. Then the spoons, forks and knives moved to either side of the plates. The glasses followed suit, positioning themselves like Lucy wanted them too. Lucy smiled. "Thank you."

She ran back to the kitchen where the adults were. She walked around the counter again to where her mother stood and waited patiently as she and Dumbledore were talking about something. When they had finished, Minerva looked down at her expectantly.

"All done," Lucy said with a smile. "Do you need anything else?"

"No that's great, sweetheart, thank you," Minerva said with a smile. "Dinner will be served soon. Why don't you go wash up?"

Lucy nodded. Soon everyone moved to the dining room to eat. Dumbledore looked over at Lucy sitting beside her mother. "So, Lucy, you used magic to set the table?"

Lucy looked up and nodded shyly. "I've been practising using magic more," she said quietly.

Remus smiled. "Wow, that's pretty strong magic for somebody so young."

"Yes, quite," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Well, I mean, she is McGonagall's daughter," Sirius said with a laugh. "I'm sure you also did loads of magic when you were... five?"

"Six!" Lucy said.

"Six, sorry kid," Sirius said with a laugh.

"I did not, actually," Minerva replied. "I did some, of course, but nothing that strong."

"What other magic can you do, Lucy?" Dorcas asked.

Lucy thoughtfully said, "hmm... sometimes I use magic to clean my room and to make my bed and... other chores."

"Haven't I also seen you -" Sirius began but before he could finish James stomped on his foot and Marlene elbowed him in the chest to cut him off.

Lucy looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean seen me?"

Everyone turned to look at Sirius. He met Minerva's eye who was glaring daggers at him and thought quickly. "No, I meant haven't I also seen _young_ people change their hair with magic! Like Dorcas."

"Like the colour?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah."

"Don't give her those kinds of ideas, Black," Minerva said making Lucy smile.

"I think I might look nice with blue hair," Lucy said with a smile. Minerva glared at her and Lucy quickly added, "I wouldn't do it, of course."

Everyone laughed. Dorcas smiled and said, "What's wrong with different coloured hair, Minerva?"

"Nothing, of course," Minerva replied with a smile. "On other people."

"That's the best though, huh? Doing your chores with magic," Marlene said with a smile. "You don't ever have to clean your own room or do your own laundry. It's pretty awesome."

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, so I have more time to do fun stuff."

"What do you like to do for fun?" James asked, as if he didn't already know.

"Read or play games or watch movies," Lucy said. "Or go outside or hang out with Daniel and Nina or Uncle Raj or Anne. They're pretty awesome. Uncle Raj was my dad's best friend. He stays with us sometimes but he had work to do in London today. Daniel's my brother and Nina is his girlfriend. They're not here right now because they picked Billy Joel over me."

"Well, Billy Joel..." Sirius mumbled, earning him another elbow to the chest from Marlene. He glared at her but she just smiled.

Lucy smiled. "It's okay. I would probably pick Billy Joel too."

They ate their dinner and talked happily. Forgetting about the war for a little while. Afterwards, however, they had to think about it again. Lucy was moved into the living room while the adults discussed the darker topics of the war in the dining room.

"I heard about Mary," Minerva said with a sigh.

"She put up a good fight," Dorcas said sadly, "but there was just so many of them."

"I should have done more," Marlene whispered. "I should have fought harder and quicker and then maybe she would be okay now."

"It's not your fault, Marls," Sirius said, putting an arm around her and giving her a squeeze. They had gotten back together shortly after the death of Mary MacDonald. He had told himself that they wouldn't until after the war was over but it happened anyways. This time felt different than the last times though. This time it felt real. It felt like it actually might last.

"It isn't," Dumbledore reassured her. "You did the best you could."

"She knew that this was a possibility. We all know," Lily whispered, resting her head on James's shoulder. James gave her hand a squeeze and looks down at her stomach with a sigh.

"How did this happen?" James said, looking over at Dumbledore.

"Things are getting worse. The Death Eaters are going after all Order members," he replied sadly.

"Yes, but what James means is, how did they know that we would be there?" Remus interjected. "They knew that a group of Order members would be in Roy at that time and they came in numbers."

"Are you suggesting that there is a leak in the Order, Remus?" Minerva asked.

Remus looked at her. She didn't seem to be accusatory or hurt by his insinuation so he continued. "Maybe. I just want us to explore all possibilities."

Dumbledore nodded. "I have thought about this possibility. It would explain how the Death Eaters have managed to attack Order members so precisely."

"Who?" Minerva asked frowning. She could not believe that any one of her friends or colleagues were working for Voldemort.

"I do not know," Dumbledore replied, looking down at his tea cup.

"I hate this. The paranoia, the mistrust. These are our friends," Lily said. "Or at least I thought they were."

"I mean, we sit here and drink our tea, pretending that everything is okay but it's not. Things are getting worse. The list of confirmed deaths gets longer every day," James mumbled. He looked down at Lily's belly and sighed. Looking up at Minerva, he said, "How do you manage that? How do you come here every day and put on a brave face for Lucy, Daniel and Nina? How do you pretend that everything is okay so they won't worry?"

"It is hard. Especially on days where the lists contain too many familiar names," Minerva replied quietly. "But coming home and talking with Lucy, who is happily oblivious to everything that's happening outside this house, it helps. It's nice to be pulled out of the war, even if it's just for a little while."

"It's probably good for your mental state too," Remus said with a sigh.

"I wish I had that," Dorcas mumbled.

"Me too," Marlene agreed.

Minerva sighed. She decided to change the topic. "Amelia told me about the trial of Igor Karkaroff and Antonin Dolohov," she said. "Dolohov was the one who was leading the group that attacked Fabian and Gideon. They've been sent to Azkaban."

"That's good news at least," Lily said.

Sirius sighed and stood up. "Well, I'm officially bummed out and have decided that I would prefer Lucy's company," he said. He looked over at Marlene. "Would you like to join me? I'm going to go play with her."

Marlene smiled and nodded. She set down her glass and got up, following Sirius out of the room. James and Lily both give him a look as he walked by.

"Don't worry. I'm great with kids," he whispered with a smile as he passed them.

Minerva smiled as she watched them go. The adults that remained kept discussing the war while Sirius and Marlene walked into the living room to find Lucy sitting on the couch watching television.

"Hello, Lucy," Marlene said, coming over and sitting down near her.

"Hi," Lucy replied, muting the television and looking at her and Sirius.

Sirius walked over and sat down beside Marlene. "Hey, Lucy. We got bored talking with all those adults and thought we might have more fun playing out here with you."

"Really?" Lucy said with a smile on her face.

"Yes," Marlene said with a laugh. "Do you want to play a game or something?"

"Okay!" Lucy slid down from the couch and walked towards the game cabinet. Marlene and Sirius follow her. "What do you want to play? We have a lot of games."

"Wow," Sirius said, sitting down in front of the cupboard filled with board games and cards and toys so he could look through all the games. "Why do you have so many?"

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. We just bought them so that we could play them. Didn't you have board games at your house?"

"No, not really," Sirius mumbled. Marlene gave him a small smile. "So, which games do you like?"

"Hmm, I like _Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?_ We can play that if you want," Lucy said.

"Okay," Sirius said with a smile.

"I'm down," Marlene said. "You'll have to teach us though. We've never played it."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile. As she pulled out the game, she said, "No one's ever come and played with me instead of talking with Mum before."

"Really?" Sirius asked with a laugh. "I would much rather play games than have boring conversations over tea."

"What are they talking about?" Lucy asked, leading them over to the coffee table where they could set up the game.

"Eh, nothing interesting," Marlene said, not looking at Lucy. "Okay, how do we play?"

Lucy smiled and set up the game. She explained the rules and how to play and they began their game.

...

"Minerva, we have discussed Professor Trelawney's prophecy," Dumbledore said. He and Minerva were sitting alone in the home office having a drink and discussing the war. Remus, Sirius, Marlene, Dorcas and the Potters had left and Lucy was supposed to be in bed but she was using her mother's distraction to stay up late and watch television.

"I still can't believe you gave her the job," Minerva mumbled. "And already have her moved into the castle."

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course, she is a real Seer after all and she has a very large target on her back now."

Minerva sighed. "Real Seer," she muttered with a shake of her head. "I will agree she has a target on her back but you have talked to her, haven't you? She's..."

"Eccentric," he said with a small smile.

"That's one way of putting it."

"Well, I would like to discuss the first part of the prophecy that mentioned a witch," he replied.

"You have come up with a theory?"

"Well, I've been doing some thinking and have come to the conclusion that the witch may be Lucy."

Minerva looked at him for a second. "Lucy..."

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Born half witch and half muggle. She was born through turmoil."

"I suppose," she said. "But powers unlike any other? Other children can do magic before coming to Hogwarts as well."

"Yes but none with this amount precision and control," Dumbledore pointed out. "Why don't you call her and she can show us her magic?"

Minerva looked Dumbledore over for a second before shaking her head and standing up. She set her now empty glass onto the desk and walked out of the office towards the living room. She looked at Lucy who was sitting on the couch watching some cartoon on the television. Minerva sighed and said, "Lucy."

" _Ji_?" Lucy said without looking away from the TV.

"Albus and I want to talk to you quickly, please turn off the television and follow me."

Lucy looked over at her mother quizzically for a second before nodding and saying, "Okay..."

She grabbed the remote, turned off the television and slid off the couch. Lucy followed her mother back to the home office, a little worried about what she might have done to be called into her mother's office.

Minerva sat back down at her chair while Lucy stood in front of the desk near Dumbledore's chair. He gave her a small smile and said, "Lucy, your mother and I were just discussing how much you are improving at your magic."

"Really?" Lucy asked, pushing her hair away behind her ears.

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a nod. "And I was wondering if you would perform some magic for me."

"Um, okay," Lucy said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Whatever you feel comfortable with."

"Okay," Lucy said, looking around the room. She saw the two empty glasses on the desk and walked over to it. She picked up the two glasses in her hands and slowly they got smaller and she was able to closer her hands around them. After a second she opens her hands again and two white butterflies flutter out and fly around the room. Lucy smiled as she watched them go. The butterflies seemed to glow and left a small trail of white light as they flew around the room. Minerva smiled as the butterflies flew around her. Lucy giggled a little bit and then holds out her finger. The butterflies came back and landed on her finger. She slowly covers them with her other hand, clasps her hands together and when she opens her hands this time she was holding a glass in each hand. She set them back down and looked from Dumbledore to her mother. "Was - was that good?"

"Wow, that - that was great, Lucy," Minerva said. "You transfigured the glasses. That's very hard magic. Where did you learn that?"

Lucy shrugged. "I read the textbooks you gave me and I tried it myself."

"And she doesn't require a wand," Dumbledore said quietly.

 _Power not confined to a wand but surged through her whole body._ The words danced through Minerva's mind. She sighed and looked Lucy over. She was so young... so small... so innocent. She was not ready to fight in a war. She was a baby. She was Minerva's baby. Minerva motioned for Lucy to come to her. When she got close enough Minerva took Lucy's arm in her hand and pulled her over to her. Lucy looked at her questioningly. Minerva gave her a small smile and pulled her into a hug. Lucy giggled. Dumbledore gave Minerva a small reassuring smile.

"Mum! What are you doing?" Lucy asked with a laugh.

"Nothing," Minerva mumbled. She straightened up and let Lucy go. "Alright, love. Thank you. You may go. No more TV, though. Please go upstairs and get ready for bed."

"Um, okay," Lucy said, looking a little confused. She looked at Minerva and then over to Dumbledore before running out of the room and up the stairs.

Minerva sighed. She looked at the door that Lucy had just walked out of for a few moments longer before turning back to Dumbledore and shaking her head. "She's so young, Albus," she said. "She's just a child. She can't fight in a war."

"No, we will not be having her man the front lines any time soon," Dumbledore said. "But have you started training her? She is young but she seems hungry for knowledge. You might as well begin teaching her to use her magic."

"I suppose," Minerva mumbled, still not happy about this new development. She sighed. She now had a new fear that she could stay awake at night worrying about. She turned her head and looked at the family photo that sat on the desk. She looked at Lucy's smiling face staring back at her. She had been getting so much better lately. She was almost back to her old, energetic, cheerful self. Minerva didn't want her to regress again. "She's just a child, Albus. Both mentioned in the prophecy are. They don't need this kind of pressure!"

"They don't, and we won't let them feel any of that pressure right now," Dumbledore said with a frown. "For now let them be children. I have yet to tell the Potters and the Longbottom of this prophecy. I thought for now both Lily and Alice have enough on their minds."

Minerva nodded. There was a moment of silence before Minerva smiled a little and said, "She has a great aptitude for transfigurations."

Dumbledore smiled. "She does. You must be very proud."

"I am."

* * *

 _ **Sunday, April 19th 1998**_

"Alright, Lucy," Minerva said, sitting down on the floor in front of the coffee table with a textbook in hand. "We'll do Charms today."

Lucy was sitting opposite Minerva with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. Nina and Daniel were out and Raj was at work so Minerva had thought this was a perfect time for Lucy to practice her magic. This way if something went wrong she could clean it up before they got home. Lucy smiled. "Okay!"

"The first spell we will try is _Wingardium Leviosa_ ," Minerva said, pulling a tennis ball from her pocket and setting it in between her and Lucy. "This charm is used to lift things into the air. Okay, repeat after me; _Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa."_

" _Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, Wingardium Leviosa_ ," Lucy repeated cheerfully.

"Good. Now, focus on the ball and say the spell."

Lucy nodded, holding her hands up in front of her. Her little fingers spread out as if she was ready to catch something. She stared at the ball intently. " _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

The ball began to shake slightly before slowly floating upwards. It went up and up until it hit the ceiling. Lucy looked up at with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh my god! I did it!" she cheered. "On my first try too!"

Lucy had stopped focusing and the ball started falling back towards the ground. She watched it and quickly threw her arms over her head to protect herself from the ball. Minerva quickly flicked her wand and the ball slowed and stopped right above Lucy's head. Lucy looked up when the ball never hit her and stared at it frozen in the air. She smiled, reached up and grabbed it.

"Good job, Lucy. I'm very impressed you got it on your first try," Minerva said with a smile. Lucy beamed. "Now, the spell I just used was _Arresto Momentum_. It allows the caster to slow the movement of an object. It's a more difficult charm. It is usually taught in second year Charms class at Hogwarts. We will be trying this spell as well but I want you to practising the levitation charm a few more times first. Just so that you can get it down pat."

"Okay," Lucy said, putting the ball back between them. Lucy raised her hand and tried the levitation charm a few more times, managing to get the ball up in the air every single time. Every single time she was very excited.

Minerva smiled as she watched the ball rise. She watched Lucy's face brighten every time the ball rose. "Okay, good job," she said. "Ready to move on now?"

Lucy nodded. She was bored of this spell now and was very ready to learn a new one. She looked up at Minerva excitedly.

"Okay. Let's try _Arresto Momentum_ , then," Minerva said. "Can you say that? _Arr-est-o Mo-men-tum_."

" _Arresto Momentum_ ," Lucy repeated happily. "Are you going to throw the ball at me and I have to slow it down?"

"Well, I was thinking I would just throw this ball up in the air and you could slow down it's fall but if you would prefer the added incentive of stopping it from hitting you in the face we could do that instead," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy laughed. "Maybe not."

"Alright, are you ready?"

Lucy nodded again, hands up, and Minerva threw the ball in the air. It sped upwards and then began to fall back down.

" _Arresto Momentum_!" Lucy yelled. The ball fell at the same speed and hit the ground. Minerva caught it as it started to bounce away. Lucy frowned. "It didn't work."

Minerva smiled. "Well, it was only your first attempt. Like I said, this spell is a little more difficult. Let's try again, shall we?" she said, holding out the ball again. "Try concentrating harder on seeing the ball slowing down in your mind. Ready?"

Lucy nodded intently, hands at the ready. Minerva threw the ball upwards again. As it fell Lucy exclaimed, " _Arresto Momentum_!"

This time the ball slowed down this time until it came to a stop right before it hit the ground. Lucy put her hands up and the ball fell the few centimetres to the floor. "I did it!"

Minerva laughed. "You did. Good job, sweetheart," she said. "Let's practice a few more times just to make sure."

Lucy nodded. They practiced a couple more times and each time the ball slowed to a stop right before it hit the ground.

"Good job, Lucy," Minerva said with a smile, picking up the ball and rolling it around in her hands. "You've done very well. You're a very fast learner."

Lucy smiled. "Is that it? We're only doing two spells?"

"I think that's enough for one day," Minerva said, starting to get up. "Raj, Daniel and Nina will be home soon and I still have to get started on dinner."

Lucy nodded. She stood up too and followed her mother towards the kitchen. "I can't wait to show Daniel and Nina what I learned!"

Minerva smiled. "I'm sure they will be very impressed as well."

"Mum?"

"Yes?"

"When you did the _Arresto Momentum_ spell on the ball you didn't say anything and it still worked. How come I can't do that?" Lucy asked.

"Well, first you have to learn the spells, of course. Use them properly and all that. Then when you are comfortable with them you can start doing them non-verbally. You just have to think it in your mind and it will work," Minerva explained. "You'll be able to do it too soon. I just want you to learn the spells first."

"That makes sense," Lucy replied, making Minerva smile.


	11. TLT -- 11

**_June 1992_**

" _I was surprised when you called," Amelia said with a small smile. She was sitting in the booth in the London bar they always sat at when they went out for drinks with Minerva sitting across from her. "It's been so long since we all went out like this."_

" _Hmm... yes, it has," Minerva said a little absentmindedly. She looked at her watch quickly before shaking her head and looking up at Amelia. She gave her a smile. "Let's not let that happen again. We should do this at least once a month."_

" _I agree," Amelia said. "I've missed it. And now you can finally drink as much as you want because you're no longer breastfeeding."_

" _This will actually be my first drink," Minerva said with a smile. "I've been waiting to have it with you all."_

" _That's exciting," Amelia said with a laugh._

 _Just then Raj and Jay came back to the booth with glasses in their hands. They sat down and handed out drinks. Minerva took a big gulp. She definitely needed this._

" _Whoa, slow down there," Raj said with a laugh. "Take it easy. You haven't drank in a long time."_

" _I've been dealing with a very energetic baby, who has now learned how to run. Not just walk but run," Minerva said. "I need this."_

 _Raj laughed. "So is Christie watching the kids?"_

" _Yes," Jay said with a nod. "It's the first time Minerva's actually left Lucy alone. She was freaking out all the way over here."_

" _Oh, so that's why she's being so distracted lately," Amelia said._

" _I'm not distracted," Minerva said with a frown. "And I was not freaking out all the way here. I just need a nice drink."_

" _Uh huh," Raj said._

" _Maybe this was a bad idea," she said, shaking her head. "You three are very mean to me. I should have just stayed home."_

" _I think you've been hanging out with a child too much," Raj said with a laugh. "You need more adult conversation."_

 _Minerva sighed. "You're right," she said. "The only time I ever got adult conversation was during lunch at Collins Enterprises and the occasional phone call which I'm still mad at you for, Amelia. You should have come visited me more."_

" _I'm sorry, Minerva," Amelia said with a smile. "I should have visited and called more. Then maybe you wouldn't be so adult conversation starved."_

" _Maybe," Minerva said. She sighed and checked her watch again. She looked around the bar quickly before spotting a pay phone a little ways away. "It's almost time for Lucy to go to bed. I should call home to make sure Christie has her in bed."_

" _Minerva, stop," Jay said, grabbing her before she could get up. "Christie knows what she's doing. Just try to enjoy yourself."_

" _Well, she's going to be sad if I'm not there to tell her goodnight," Minerva said, trying to get up again. Jay wasn't making it easy. He held her close to him. "I should call and just tell her goodnight."_

" _You told her goodnight before we left," Jay said._

 _Amelia smiled and shook her head. "Minerva, Lucy will be fine," she said. "Drink your scotch and enjoy your first night not having to worry about her."_

" _Not having to worry about her," Minerva said, furrowing her brow and shaking her head._

" _Well," Raj said. "How about we talk about something else? Ah... we could talk about..." he looked over at Amelia beside him. "Amelia?"_

" _Ah... how's work going, Jay?" Amelia asked._

" _It's going well," Jay said, loosening his grip on Minerva slightly. She straightened up, straightening her clothes, and gave him a look. He smiled and rested his arm around her a little gentler this time. "We've been very busy recently with all the new projects we were able to start because of the resources that Howard Stark has given us."_

" _How come he's given you so much?" Amelia asked._

" _It's some new deal we struck with them," Raj said. "Jay offers some consulting services and they invest in some of our projects."_

" _Why does he need you as a consultant?" Minerva asked. "Don't get me wrong, you are wonderful and a great business man but Howard Stark has been running Stark Industries since before the Second World War. Why would he need your help now?"_

" _It's for another company he's started," Jay said. "Not Stark Industries. The one that he and Peggy Carter work on together. It's still quite underground. That's why you haven't heard of it."_

" _What's it called?" Amelia asked._

" _Sword and Shield, I think," Raj said. "They're in security, right?"_

" _Yes," Jay said with a nod._

" _Jay's been doing a lot of work for them," Raj said. "Always so tired by the end of the day. I'm a little worried that it may start affecting your Collins Enterprises work."_

" _Don't worry, I won't let that happen," Jay said. "Collins Enterprises is much higher on my priority list than this company."_

" _You have been very overworked lately," Minerva said. "You worked late three out of five days this week and you've started going into work on Saturdays too. I worry that you're not giving yourself enough of a break, love."_

" _I'll be fine, darling," Jay said with a smile. "What about you, Amelia? Heard things are getting pretty busy for you as well."_

" _Oh, yes," Amelia said with a sigh. "I've got a lot of court cases lined up this week. I've been working late just as much as you have unfortunately."_

" _And Amelia has always worked weekends," Minerva said with a shake of her head._

" _A lot of people breaking the law, huh?" Raj said. "That sucks. Though I guess it keeps you in business, right?"_

" _I suppose," Amelia said. "Though I do wish more people would just follow the law."_

" _That's the dream," Raj said with a smile._

" _What about you, Raj?" Minerva asked. "How's work going for you?"_

" _Busy," Raj said. "With Jay busy with Stark and Carter, I've got a lot more on my plate. Not that I really mind, of course. I like doing what I can."_

" _Thank you, Raj," Jay said with a smile._

" _Of course," Raj said. "You'll be going back work in September, won't you Minerva?"_

" _I will be, yes," Minerva said. "Lucy will be a year old then. She'll stay with Christie during the day."_

" _I can't believe she'll already be a year old," Jay said with a serene sigh._

 _Minerva sighed too and took another big gulp of her drink. "Kids are hard," she mumbled with a shake of her head, suddenly very tired. "Lucy is harder to deal with than Daniel."_

" _She's a lot younger than he is," Raj said. "Daniel was just as crazy when he was her age. Maybe Jay just makes very crazy children."_

" _Daniel was much more wild than Lucy, I must say," Jay said. "Drove us crazy. Couldn't sit still for even a second. Football helped. It gave him an outlet for that energy. When Lucy's a little older we'll put her in something like that. Something she'll like that she can run off some of that energy in."_

" _What are you thinking?" Amelia asked._

" _Whatever she likes," Jay said. "It'll be up to her to decide. Daniel chose piano and football himself."_

" _I think she should do an instrument as well," Minerva said. "I'll push for that. It's a little early for that now though. She does like hitting the piano keys though. Thinks it's fun."_

" _Drives Daniel mad," Jay said with a laugh. "She always sits beside him when he's practicing and bangs the keys."_

 _Amelia smiled. "Maybe she's learning from him already."_

" _I wouldn't be surprised," Raj said. "Daniel's trying to teach her everything already. The alphabet, numbers, basic math."_

" _He takes credit for teaching her his name as well," Minerva said with a smile. "He's a good older brother."_

" _He is," Jay said with a smile. "I'm glad they get along so well. Lucy absolutely loves spending time with her brother. Daniel spares some time here and there."_

" _He likes playing with her too," Raj said with a smile. "Even if he won't admit."_

" _Unless it gets in the way of him going out with his friends," Amelia said with a smile._

" _Of course," Minerva said with a laugh._

" _So, are you excited to get back to work then?" Raj asked._

" _Yes, I am," Minerva said with a smile. "I missed teaching. Staying at home with Lucy was great, of course, but I'm ready to go back to school."_

" _I'm sure James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter have missed you greatly," Jay said with a laugh. Minerva gave him a look._

" _Who are they?" Raj asked._

" _Some of Minerva's most troublesome students," Jay said._

" _I'm sure that they'll have something excited planned for your first day back," Amelia said with a smile._

" _Oh, I'm sure they will," Minerva mumbled, sounding very tired again all of a sudden._

 _Raj laughed and shook his head. "Well, how would they keep their title of most troublesome if they don't cause the most trouble?"_

" _I'm guessing you were also one of your teachers' most troublesome students," Minerva said giving him a look._

" _I don't know what you mean," Raj said, chin up and hand over his heart. "I was a wonderful student."_

" _I'm sure you were."_

" _Oh, I was," Raj said. His smile faded and his hand fell to his side. "Had to be if I didn't want to get a beating from my old man."_

 _Minerva's smile faded. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."_

 _Raj shrugged. "Nothing to worry about," he said. "My father wasn't a great guy. That's not your fault."_

 _There was silence for a while before Raj said, "hey, hey, I didn't mean to bring down the mood. Let's talk more about Lucy." He looked at Amelia. "She showed me the doll you got her. Pretty cool. I haven't really seen any Indian dolls before."_

" _It was hard to find," Amelia said._

 _Minerva realized now why they always talked about her and Jay or Amelia and never really about Raj. This is why Raj didn't really like talking about himself. Why he clammed up when she asked him about his childhood. She felt bad. She wished that Jay had warned her not to say stupid, insensitive things like that._

" _Custom made, I'm guessing," he said. "What with the grey eyes."_

" _Yes," Amelia said with a nod._

 _Minerva looked at Jay who gave her a small reassuring smile and a little squeeze. She gave him a look and he nodded. They would talk about it later._

" _That's nice," Raj said. "It's her favourite toy now, I think."_

" _Oh no," Jay said with a shake of his head. "That would be the cat that I gave her when she was born. She named it Tula before she could even really speak."_

" _I could have guessed that part," Raj said with a laugh. "Tula. Doesn't really sound like a name a kid would pick up somewhere."_

" _There's also that stuffed sheep that Malcolm gave her," Amelia said. "I think she named that one Shawn."_

" _Yes, but I think she definitely prefers Rin over Shawn," Minerva said with a smile. "She loves that doll now. Keeps it with her everywhere she goes."_

" _I'm glad she likes it," Amelia said with a smile._

 _They talked for a while longer before Raj got up to get the next round. Amelia turned and looked at him for a second before turning back and looking at Jay. "Were Raj's parents abusive?"_

 _Jay sighed. "His father wasn't a very happy man," he said, pulling Minerva a little closer. "He doesn't really have a problem talking about it anymore which I guess is good. Means he's coping, right?"_

" _I suppose," Minerva said softly. She looked up at the man waiting at the bar. He caught her eye and smiled at her. She smiled back. "I mean he seems okay now."_

" _Yes, he's doing well now," Jay said with a nod._

" _Are his parents still alive?" Amelia asked._

" _No," Jay said with a shake of his head. "I think his father saw some pretty bad stuff in the war and started drinking a lot to try and forget about it. He wasn't a great drunk. Raj and his mother got away from him when he was fourteen, I think. He killed himself not long after that."_

" _Wow..." Minerva whispered. She realized that she had known this man for a very long time but still didn't know very much about him._

" _His mother died when he was thirty. He took good care of her up until the end," he continued. "Bought her a nice house, got her the best care. She passed away in her sleep. Natural causes. He never cried. At least around me anyway. I've never seen him cry."_

 _Amelia sighed. "I hope he's okay."_

 _Jay smiled. "I think he is," he said. "Raj is really resilient. He's been through some pretty bad stuff but he's come out the other end a great person. He's caring and loving and he's wonderful with Lucy and Daniel."_

" _He is," Minerva said with a nod. "I wonder if that was what put him off marriage."_

" _I don't know. It could be," he said. "Don't treat him any different now that you know. He wouldn't like that."_

" _Of course not," Amelia said._

" _We would never," Minerva said._

" _Don't worry about him," Jay said. "It was a long time ago and he's worked really hard to move on. He'll be okay."_

 _Minerva nodded and leaned against Jay again. Jay smiled and kissed her temple. "It's kind of amazing," she said. "He's such a fun and happy person. To have gone through such a horrible thing so young... I can't imagine."_

" _It's funny how that works sometimes," Jay said. "Sometimes the happiest people are the ones who've learned to be happy through a lot of adversity."_

" _I guess it makes sense," Amelia said. "I really commend him for that."_

" _So do I," Minerva said with a nod._

 _Jay changed the subject to something else and Raj came back with their drinks. They sat in the bar talking and laughing for a couple hours. Soon it was late and everyone was about ready to go home. Amelia leaned back in her booth and yawned. She looked over at Raj who was scanning the bar._

" _Who will you be going home with today, then?" she asked._

" _Ah, I'm hurt, Bones," he said, putting a hand over his heart. "I'm not looking around for a prey, if that's what you're suggesting."_

" _Of course not," Minerva said with a smile. "Though, I did notice that one in the blue. She keeps looking over at you every so often."_

 _Raj turned and looked at the blonde by the bar. He gave her a little smile before turning back to look at the others. "You know, you guys make pretty good wingmen," he said. Minerva gave him a look. "Or wingwoman, of course."_

 _Minerva rolled her eyes. "I'm not your wingwoman," she said. "I don't think you need my help very much anyways."_

" _You're right. I'm very charming."_

" _I was talking about your size of your wallet," she said with a smile. "It's the best wingman you've got, I would say."_

" _How do you think I got this one?" Jay asked with a laugh._

" _Exactly," Minerva said with a smile._

" _I knew it," Raj said with a laugh. "And now she's got one of your kids, Jay. You're trapped."_

" _It seems I am," he said with laugh. "I've never enjoyed being trapped before."_

" _Stockholm syndrome?" Amelia asked._

" _Maybe," Jay said, pulling Minerva closer to him. He smiled at her. "Well, we should go. Raj, I hope that I don't have to wake up tomorrow to deal with another girl who won't leave your apartment."_

" _I'm sure she's not like that one."_

" _What happened?" Minerva asked._

 _Raj shrugged. "Brought a girl back and I guess she really liked my place," he said. "Refused to leave and I had to enlist Jay's help."_

" _Where do you find these women?" Amelia said with a shake of her head._

" _I believe I met her the same restaurant that I met you, Bones," he said with a laugh. "So…"_

" _Go," Amelia mumbled._

" _I'm going," he said. He looked at Jay and Minerva. "See you Monday. I expect you and Lucy will be coming down to Collins Enterprises for lunch on Monday as well?"_

" _Yes, we'll be there," Minerva said with a smile. "She loves coming to see her daddy and Uncle Raj at work."_

" _And we love seeing her too," he said with a smile. He looked over at Amelia. "And you, Bones, better not be going into work on a Sunday. I'm going to call you to make sure."_

" _And what will you do if I am?" Amelia asked with a raised eyebrow._

" _I will come down to the courthouse and drag you out myself," Raj said. "And before you say that I won't be able to get in. I will find a way."_

 _Amelia smiled and shook her head. "Go, you don't want to keep your woman waiting too long," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand._

 _He smiled, said one last goodbye, and headed for the door, grabbing his coat on the way. Minerva watched him walk up to the bar and introduce himself to the woman in the blue dress and buy her a drink. She smiled and shook her head before looking back at Amelia._

" _You two really need to talk to each other," she said._

" _Oh god, not this again," Amelia said with a shake of her head, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her drink. "Jay, control your wife."_

" _If only I knew how to do that," Jay said, earning himself a pointed look from Minerva. He smiled and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry, love."_

" _Well," Minerva said, looking back at Amelia, "since you're not going into work tomorrow, you should come over for dinner. See the kids. They miss you."_

" _I'm still going into work," Amelia said. "There's too much to be done with the riots that happened recently. All those arrested need to processed and tried. That means a lot of paperwork for me to deal with."_

" _You heard Raj," Jay said. "He's going to call you tomorrow and if you don't pick up he will go down to the courthouse. He wasn't lying. That is something he would completely do."_

" _Then he would end up at the wrong building and probably get in trouble for trying to get in," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "And at some point he will most likely learn that there is in fact no judge named Amelia Bones that works there and then you will have a lot of explaining to do."_

" _Then I'll just wait for his call and go in afterwards," Amelia said with a shrug._

" _No, because then I will come drag you out of the office," Minerva said._

" _You can try. I doubt you'll have much luck."_

" _Do you really want to start a duel with me in the middle of the Ministry building?" Minerva asked. "Because you know that I wouldn't back down from a challenge like that, even from you, Amelia Bones."_

" _Eh, it'll be a Sunday so I don't suspect there will be many people there," Amelia said. "Maybe it's about time we had another duel."_

" _I beat you last time, if you remember," Minerva said._

" _I do not recall."_

" _Of course you don't."_

" _Okay," Jay said. "Or, this is just a suggestion now, you limit your time at work tomorrow and come over for dinner afterwards. That's a good compromise, don't you think?"_

" _I don't like that," Minerva said with a frown. "She still goes to work which is exactly what we're trying to avoid."_

" _That's what compromise means, Minerva," Amelia said. Minerva gave her a look. Amelia smiled and looked at Jay. "I would love to come over for dinner tomorrow, Jay. Thank you for the nice, accommodating, invitation."_

 _Minerva rolled her eyes. "You two are insufferable."_

 _Jay smiled and kissed her again. "No, we're not," he said. "You love us."_

" _Do I?"_

" _You do," Amelia said with a smile._

" _Well, there was my first mistake," Minerva said making them both laugh._

" _Well, shall we head out?" Jay asked._

" _Yes, it's getting quite late," she said with a nod. She motioned to Raj, who was now walking the girl in the blue dress out the door, with her head. "We better go before Amelia gets too jealous."_

 _Jay laughed as he stood up and offered his hand out to his wife. Minerva smiled and took it. Amelia rolled her eyes at Minerva as she got up._

" _I'm just going to leave without you two," Amelia said. "You're both so annoying."_

" _Oh, calm down," Minerva said with a smile as she and Jay put on their coats and followed Amelia towards the door. "Maybe, if you could swallow your pride for long enough, you and he could -"_

" _Finish that sentence and I cannot be held responsible for what I do to you next, Minerva McGonagall," Amelia said dangerously._

 _Minerva laughed. "Cute, you think you could hurt me."_

" _I know I can," she said._

 _"Uh huh," Minerva said._

" _As much as I'd love to see the duel that results from this," Jay said as they walked out into the cold London night. "I feel it might be better if that did not occur so how about we all agree to disagree on this topic."_

" _The problem is that it's my opinion of this topic that matters, not yours or your wife's," Amelia said._

" _Of course, I agree," Minerva said. "I'm just saying that I know that you know that he likes you and you like him too."_

" _That was a complicated sentence," Jay said. "And I'm too drunk to decode it."_

 _Minerva laughed and put an arm around Jay lovingly. "It's okay, my love," she whispered to him. "Just focus on walking straight."_

" _I'm not that drunk," Jay said with a laugh._

" _I predict you'll probably throw up after you Apparate back to Rochester," Amelia said with a smile as she turned into the alley they used to Apparate in._

" _I don't think so," Jay said. "I've gotten used to Apparating by now."_

 _Amelia smiled and shook her head. "Of course you have," she said. "Well, I should get going. I'll see you both soon."_

" _Goodbye, Amelia," Minerva and Jay said with a smile._

 _She pulled out her wand and Apparated back home. Minerva pulled out her own wand and held her hand out for Jay. Jay took her hand and off they went. They appeared outside the gate of Collins Mansion and Minerva gave him a minute as he did his best not to throw up. He leaned on the wall while she punched in the keycode._

" _I'm fine," he said._

" _I didn't say anything," she said, looking over at him with a smile._

" _I saw the look you gave me," he said, pushing himself off the wall as the gate began to open. He put an arm around Minerva, partly because he loved holding his wife and partly because he needed the support._

 _Minerva smiled and kissed his cheek before walking in through the gate. "It's okay, love," she said as the gate closed behind them. "Some people never get used to Apparating."_

" _I'm not those people," Jay said. "I've just drank a little too much tonight."_

" _You know, everyone says you're such a nice, go-with-the-flow kind of man," she said with a laugh. "If only they could see you now."_

 _He gave her a look and she just smiled at him._

" _Of all the things you could be stubborn about," she said. "You chose this."_

" _I could always be like you and be stubborn about everything," he said with an annoying smile._

" _I'm not that stubborn."_

" _You keep claiming that but evidence is piling up against you," he said with a laugh. She gave him a look but he just smiled. "You know, Lucy's also becoming stubborn like you. When she gets older and becomes more difficult, I'm going to blame you."_

 _Minerva rolled her eyes. They made it to the front door and Minerva held her hand out for the keys. Jay handed them over and she unlocked the door. They walked inside and heard the television on in the living room. Christie turned it off and walked into the entrance hall when she heard the door. She smiled at them cheerfully._

" _Hello, Mr. Collins, Mrs. McGonagall," she said. "Did you have a good night?"_

" _Yes, thank you, Christie," Minerva said with a smile as she took off her coat and started putting it away in the closet. She took Jay's coat from him and put it away as well. "I hope the children weren't too much a handful for you."_

" _Oh no, they were perfect," Christie said with a smile. "Well, that is until bedtime. Neither of your children like going to bed very much."_

" _I'm sorry if they were difficult," Jay said, pulling out his wallet and taking out a few bills. "We'll make it up to you."_

" _Oh no, it was fine," Christie said with a smile. "You've already paid me for tonight, Mr. Collins. It's alright, really."_

" _Please, just take it," Jay said with a smile, holding out the money towards her._

 _It took some convincing but eventually Christie accepted the tip. She picked up her things, put on her coat and said goodbye as well. Jay closed the door behind her and then he and Minerva walked up the stairs to their own bedroom. Jay changed and got into bed immediately but Minerva couldn't sleep until she checked on the children first._

 _Jay grumbled sleepily for her to come to bed but she ignored him and walked towards Daniel's room. She looked inside to find him fast asleep in his bed. The lamp on his bedside table was on, a comic book was open on his chest and his blankets were hanging off the bed. Minerva smiled and quietly moved over to the bed. She picked up the comic book and set it on the bedside table and turned the lamp off. She fixed his blankets and kissed his forehead before leaving the room and heading for Lucy's._

 _Lucy was asleep as well. She laid in her crib with her hands clenched tightly up by her head. Minerva smiled and walked over to the crib. She leaned in and kissed Lucy's forehead as well, trying not to wake her up. Lucy shifted slightly and mumbled something about Tula the cat making Minerva smile._

" _Goodnight, my darling," she whispered before heading out of the room and back to her own._

 _Jay was snoring when she came back. She smiled and walked over her side of the bed. She got in and curled up beside him. He grumbled something unintelligible in his sleep. Minerva smiled. Like father, like daughter, she supposed. She leaned her head down on his chest and he put an arm around her in his sleep._

* * *

 ** _Sunday, May 3rd 1998_**

Minerva jumped slightly at the sound of tapping on the living room window. She looked over at it but saw nothing. With a sigh she forced herself off of the couch she had been sitting on and set down her book. She walked over to the window and opened it. James and Sirius took the Invisibility Cloak off their heads and smiled up at her.

"What is the point of that thing if you're always taking it off to talk to me?" she muttered, looking around to make sure no one was looking. "Raj is here somewhere and Lucy's playing outside, you should be more careful."

"That's what we came to talk to you about," James said. "We were watching her play and she started climbing this tree and now..."

"She's stuck," Sirius said with a laugh. "She can't get down and she doesn't know what to do so she's just sitting there waiting for someone to come out looking for her."

Sirius thought this was hilarious. He kept laughing while Minerva shook her head. James smiled and hit Sirius on the back of the head. "Come on, man," he said. "The kid's stuck and scared. Be a little more sensitive."

"It's just too funny," he said with a laugh.

Minerva rolled her eyes and closed the window. She walked to the kitchen and looked out into the back garden. She saw Lucy sitting up in a far off tree on a very high up branch. She shook her head, walked to the kitchen door, and called up the stairs, "Raj!"

After a moment, she heard a door upstairs open and close. Raj came down the stairs. "Yes?"

"Lucy has managed to get herself stuck in a tree," she said with a sigh, walking back into the kitchen and towards the back door. Raj laughed as he followed after her. She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Apparently she was climbing up and went much too high," she said. "She hasn't moved in a while. I think she's too scared to climb down."

Raj laughed again and Minerva smiled a little, shaking her head. They walked out into the back garden and Minerva called, "Lucy?"

"Mum! Up here!" Lucy called.

Raj and Minerva walked over to the tree that she was sitting in and looked up at her.

"Hey, Princess," Raj said. "Ah, what you doing up there?"

"I was climbing," Lucy said with a smile. She pointed to a mess of twigs on a branch nearby. "Look, there's a bird's nest over here! Bluejays! They're so cute!"

"That's nice, sweetheart, but it's almost lunchtime so please come down now," Minerva said with a smile.

"Ah... no. I think I'll stay up here a little longer," she replied, smile fading. She avoided Minerva and Raj's gaze by looking over at the birds again.

"Are you stuck?" Raj asked with a laugh.

"No..."

"Lucy," Minerva said, raising her eyebrow at her.

"Getting down is scarier than getting up," she mumbled, looking down and grabbing the tree branch more tightly. "It's so high up!"

"Why don't you start climbing down and if you start to fall I'll catch you," Raj said, walking closer to the tree. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it yourself."

"Um... okay..." Lucy said, though she made no move to start coming down. "You promise you'll catch me?"

"Yes, I promise," Raj said with a smile. "Come on, love."

"Bye bye, birds. I don't think I'm going to come up here again," she said as she started to grab hold of the tree trunk and climb down. Minerva gripped her wand in her pocket tight, just in case she needed to make a quick move. Raj instructed her as she climbed. Lucy made it about halfway before not finding any good places to put her hands and feet. She clung to the tree trunk and cried, "I'm stuck! There nowhere to go!"

"There's a branch just a little bit lower," Raj said. "Just go a little further."

Lucy lowered her right foot again but still didn't feel anything. She hugged the tree tightly and shook her head violently. "No! I'm going to fall!"

"Alright, alright," Raj said, moving forward, reaching up, and grabbing Lucy by the waist. "You can let go now."

Lucy let go and Raj pulled her back away from the tree. He set her down and she smiled up at him. "Yay!" she said, hugging his legs tightly. "Thank you for saving me."

"Of course, love," he said with a laugh. "It wasn't so bad was it?"

Lucy shook her head.

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "Oh, yes, she was not scared at all."

"I wasn't!" Lucy said, running over to her mother.

"Of course not," Minerva said with a smile. She reached down and brushed the dirt and twigs off her clothes. "Alright, how about we all go inside and get some lunch?"

"Okay!" Lucy said. She started running towards the house and looked back at Minerva and Raj. "Oh! Oh! Mum, Uncle Raj, watch this!"

Lucy ran, raised her arms up into the air and did a couple cartwheels around the backyard. Minerva smiled and clapped her hands. "Wow, Lucy. That's great."

"Good job, Lucy," Raj said with a smile.

"Thank you," she said, pushing her hair out of her face now that she was upright again and ran back to them. She grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her towards the house. "Come on, I'm hungry!"

Minerva smiled and walked with her. Raj followed behind them. He teased Lucy about her tree experience and she did her best to defend herself. When they reached the door, Raj opened it and motioned for them to go inside before going in himself and closing the door behind him. They washed up and then sat down in the kitchen to eat lunch.

* * *

 ** _Friday, May 22nd 1998_**

"So how are you, Dorcas?" Minerva asked. "I haven't seen you in a really long time."

"Yeah, it's been a while. I was out on a mission for Professor Dumbledore. He had me all the way in Northern Ireland," she said with a sigh, leaning back in her chair in front of Minerva's desk at Hogwarts. "I'm good though. How are you? How's Daniel, Nina, and Lucy?"

"They're good, thank you for asking," Minerva replied. "Daniel is the only one of them that really knows the extent of the war. Nina knows that there is a war going on but she doesn't really know how bad it's gotten and we've kept Lucy completely in the dark about it. Though Amelia has told me that she was starting to get suspicious."

"I see," Dorcas said with a small smile. "I suppose that it's for the best that you don't tell her. It's not really something that a six year old should have to worry about "

Minerva sighed and nodded. "She's finally getting better after losing her father. I don't want to ruin that by tell her about how terrible everything is now."

"Well, it's not completely terrible. Did you hear that some of the French and Italian Aurors arrested twelve Death Eaters last night," Dorcas said.

"I did hear about that," Minerva said with a small smile. "It's progress, I suppose. I fear that the war will not end until we get You-Know-Who, however."

She nodded. "I know," she said. "We still don't know where he's hiding though. Which is why I was in Northern Ireland. Dumbledore thought that he may be hiding up there."

"He sent you alone?" Minerva asked with a frown.

"No, it was me and Remus," Dorcas replied. "We had instructions to just do reconnaissance. Just look, don't disturb."

"What made Albus think that he may be in Ireland?"

"There was a big group of werewolves gathered there for some reason," she explained. "Which is why Remus came along. I couldn't get close enough to the werewolves to find out what was going on. I don't know how they know you're not one of them but they always know."

"I think it's smell," Minerva replied. "They have quite the sense of smell."

"You may be right," she said with a nod. "Well, he wasn't there. The werewolves were gathered because of Fenrir Greyback. They seem to do whatever he says. He's offering them a world where they will no longer have to hide or be looked down upon by other witches and wizards. Remus tried to make some friends and convince them to join our side instead but he didn't have enough time and I refused to leave him alone in a werewolf colony."

"I'm glad," Minerva said with a sigh. "I couldn't imagine Remus alone with them."

"Yeah, I... I just saw how much it was killing him. I - I couldn't let him stay," Dorcas said, looking away.

Minerva gave her a little smile. "You and Remus have been seeing a lot more of each other recently."

Dorcas looked back and raised her eyebrow. "We've been working together."

"That's all you've been doing?"

"I don't know what you're trying to -"

"I know you like him, Dorcas," Minerva said with a smile. "He likes you too so I don't understand what's keeping you two apart."

"You're crazy."

"I'm not. I know there's an unspoken thing between the two of you."

"Nope. No unspoken thing," Dorcas said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Never has been."

"Uh huh," Minerva said. "So the two of you never steal glances at each other during Order meetings or whispering in the corner when it's over or Apparate to my house together."

"Okay, no. No. We do not stealglances. What is this? A romance novel?" Dorcas replied making Minerva smile. "And we weren't whispering in a corner! We were just talking about the war. And we didn't Apparate together. We just happened to show up at the same time. You're reading too far into things. You know who you sound like? You sound like my mother."

Minerva laughed. "So you don't like him?"

"I do like Remus. He is my friend."

"No, but you like him more than just a friend," Minerva said with a knowing smile. "And that's okay, Dorcas."

"There's no unspoken thing, Minerva," Dorcas said, suddenly sounding very sad. "There can't be."

"Why not?" Minerva asked, smile fading.

"Because we are at war."

"That is not a good reason to give up in love, Dorcas. Love is the only thing that will see us through these dark times," Minerva said, giving her a reassuring look.

Dorcas shook her head. "Maybe I like him. Maybe I love him. Maybe I do but maybe... maybe I only think I do. Maybe I think I like him because I'm worried that I might die at any moment and he is my only chance at something like what Lily and James have. Maybe I love him or maybe I just love the idea of him," she whispered. "I will only know for sure if we both survive this. When we get out on the other side and I still have the feelings for him that I do now then I'll know. Then I'll know for sure that I love him the way he deserves to be loved. It is not fair to him if I have doubts."

"You can't let the war interfere with every aspect of your life, Dorcas," she said with a sigh. "You can't let it drag you down. You need something to keep you afloat. James and Lily have each other. I have Lucy, Daniel and Nina. You and Remus have been drowning for a long time. Let yourselves be saved."

"I wish I could, Minerva," she whispered. "I just can't right now. I just can't let myself think about anything other than this war. I need it to end so I need to put every ounce of my being into it to make sure it does."

"Dorcas... you've always been an all or nothing type person but this... this will destroy you if you let it."

"I have to focus on the war, Minerva," Dorcas said quietly, looking down at her hands. "If I don't I will forever wonder if there was more I could do. If someone dies while I'm off snogging Remus, I will never forgive myself. If I don't give a hundred percent and we lose..."

"It wouldn't be your fault," Minerva said firmly. "These things are not always in our control."

She doesn't respond.

"Dorcas..."

She finally looked up and gave her old teacher a little smile. "I'll be okay," she said, reassuringly. "Besides, I've made quite the name for myself among the Death Eaters. It's not safe for anyone to be associated with me."

Minerva gave her a small smile. "You'll always find an excuse won't you," she said. Dorcas doesn't respond. She just rubbed the tears out of her eyes and smiled. Minerva shook her head. "I heard that you singlehandedly arrested five Death Eaters last week."

"I'm just doing my part."

"You're doing more than your fair share, dear," Minerva said. "Way more."

"I'm just doing my part."

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "Albus said that he asked you to stay at Hogwarts from now on."

"There was a little bit of a scare the other day but I'll be fine. There's no need to worry."

"A little bit of a scare?" Minerva asked exasperatedly. "They found your flat, Dorcas. What if you had been asleep when they showed up? Move to Hogwarts, please. How will you do your part if you're not taking care of yourself first?"

"I -"

"Dorcas, please," Minerva said. "After what happened to Mary, I don't want the same to happen to you."

Dorcas sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll stay at Hogwarts."

"Excellent," Minerva replied with a small smile. "Remus is also staying at Hogwarts."

"Oh God," Dorcas mumbled with a shake of her head. "My mother has returned."

Minerva laughed and shook her head.

...

Minerva sighed and flopped down on the couch beside Lucy. She pulled Lucy closer and hugged her tightly. Lucy squirmed and laughed.

"What's wrong? Can't I hug my daughter after a long day?"

She sighed. "Fine, if you must."

Minerva laughed and shook her head.

"Just don't cover my eyes. I want to be able to see the TV."

Minerva sighed and pulled her closer. Lucy rested her head on Minerva's chest and watched the television program she had put on. Minerva had her arms around her and leaned down to give her a kiss on the head.

"Daniel and Nina go out a lot," Lucy mumbled.

"Well, they don't have school anymore so they can go out whenever they want," Minerva said with a smile.

"I wish I didn't have school and I could go out whenever I wanted."

"Where would you go?"

Lucy shrugged. "Wherever I wanted! On so many adventures."

Minerva smiled and gave her a little squeeze. "Well you'll be able to do that when you're older."

Lucy made a face and Minerva laughed.

"Daniel and Nina also didn't get to go out a lot when they first got together," Minerva said. "So now that they can, Daniel wants to take her everywhere he never got to before."

"Yeah because of me," Lucy mumbled.

"What?"

"They didn't get to go anywhere because Daniel had to come home and pick me up from school or dance and take care of me," Lucy muttered, not looking up at her mother. "That's why they didn't get to go out on dates."

"It's not your fault, darling," Minerva said, running her fingers through Lucy's hair. "It's no one's fault."

Lucy didn't respond. Minerva looked down but she was just staring at the television. Minerva sighed and kissed her again. Lucy made a face and Minerva laughed.

Just then Raj came into the living room carrying two tea cups. He smiled at them and held a cup out to Minerva. She took it and thanked him and he sat down on an armchair.

"Nina's friends are coming over tomorrow," Lucy muttered.

"I know," Raj said with a smile. "Why do you think I'm leaving so early."

"You're lucky you just get to leave," Lucy said with a sigh.

"What's wrong with Nina's friends?" Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing, of course," Raj said quickly. "They're just..."

"Loud," Lucy said.

"Yes, very loud." Raj said with a nod.

Minerva smiled.

"They call me cute and hug me and kiss my cheeks," Lucy muttered, shaking her head. Minerva laughed. "That's why Uncle Raj is running away."

"I'm not running away," Raj said.

"It seems like you are," Minerva said with a laugh.

"No, I just thought that Nina and her friends would like a little bit of privacy," Raj said. "So I will be elsewhere and they can have the house."

"Daniel's running away too," Lucy said. "He's going to hang out with Michael. He doesn't like being here when all of Nina's friends get together." She added in a whisper, "They're crazy."

Minerva laughed. "So should we run away too?"

"Yeah!" Lucy said.

"Where will you go?" Raj asked.

"Where would you like to go, Lucy?" Minerva asked.

"Hmm... I don't know," Lucy said. "Maybe we can go to the park?"

"We can do that but that won't really be running away for very long would it?" Minerva said.

"Nina is making a nice dinner for herself and her friends as well," Raj said. "You might want to be here for that at least."

"I do like food..." Lucy said, weighing her options.

Minerva and Raj laughed. They watched television for a while until Minerva looked over at the clock and saw that it was way past Lucy's bedtime.

"Okay, sweetheart," she said. "It's time for bed."

"Just one more episode," Lucy whined. "Please."

"No, I think that's enough TV for one night. You have already stayed up much too late," Minerva replied.

"But -"

"No, Lucy," Minerva said sternly.

"You better listen to her, Princess," Raj said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair. "She's using her teacher voice."

Minerva gave him a pointed look and he just smiled innocently at her. Lucy was still not happy. She was about to protest again when the doorbell rang. Lucy jumped to her feet quickly and ran towards the door excitedly.

"I'll get it! I'll get it!"

Minerva sighed and shook her head as she got up. Raj got up too and followed her towards the door. They didn't really want Lucy answering the door this late at night but by the time they reached the entrance Lucy unlocked and opened it.

"Lucy -"

Lucy flung the door open and there stood Amelia Bones. Lucy smiled. "Aunty Amelia! Hi, we were - what's wrong?"

"Oh, h-hello Lucy," Amelia said. She looked up at Minerva who saw the tears sliding down her face. "I'm very s-sorry for - for... I'm sorry. I just... didn't know where else to - to go."

"Amelia, come in. Come in," Minerva said quickly. She walked in front of Lucy and pushed her back a little.

Lucy looked at Raj who was looking at Amelia with concern. Amelia walked into the house and Minerva closed the door and put an arm around her. Lucy looked up at her aunt with a scared expression on her face.

"Are - are you okay?"

"I'm - I'm fine, love," Amelia said, giving her the saddest smile Lucy had ever seen. "Don't worry about me. Just - just listen to your mother."

"Uncle Raj -"

"Let's go, love," Raj said, picking Lucy up into his arms. He looked at Minerva. "You guys can go talk in the office again."

Minerva nodded and led Amelia away. Lucy watched them go. She didn't know what to do. Why was Amelia crying? What happened? Why couldn't she know?

"What happened?" Lucy asked. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, love," he said as he walked towards the room. "I'm sure everything will be fine. We just need to give Amelia some time to calm down."

Lucy sighed and looked back over Raj's shoulder down the stairs. Why was everyone treating her like a baby? Why couldn't she know what was going on? She wanted to help too! She wanted to help Amelia feel better but she couldn't do that if they kept shutting her out.

Raj took Lucy to her bedroom. He helped her into bed but Lucy refused to lay down. She was going to wait until Minerva came up to ask her what happened. She was sure that Minerva wasn't going to give her a straight answer but she could still try. Raj sighed and told her that she could wait. He was sure she would just fall asleep anyways. He said goodnight and walked out of the room before heading back downstairs.

...

Minerva led Amelia to a chair and helped her sit down. She conjured up a glass of water and gave it to her. She put a hand on Amelia's back and rubbed small circles as she sipped the water.

"It'll be okay, Amelia. Just tell me what happened," Minerva said soothingly.

"Oh, Minerva... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have - have come here," Amelia said through her tears. "I just... I had no - nowhere else to go."

"It's okay. It's okay," Minerva said quietly. "You're always welcome here."

Amelia took one of Minerva's hands in both of hers and took a couple deep breaths. "Edgar... he - they..."

"Oh, Amelia," Minerva whispered, pulling her close.

"They found him... I don't know how..." she mumbled. "We - all the protections... Nobody knew... Only the Order... It was supposed to be safe... A safe house."

Minerva felt tears fall down her own cheeks. She kept rubbing Amelia's back as she sobbed and covered her face again.

"All of them..." Amelia whispered between sobs. "Edgar... Karen... the - the children!"

She sobbed harder. Minerva sighed and put a hand on the back of her head. She wished she knew what to say or do to make it all better but nothing could bring them back. Nothing was could turn back the clocks.

"Sirina was only - only three," Amelia cried. "And David... David was only two! Evan was a year old and Karen was pregnant! They killed them all! All of them! They were babies! Babies!"

Amelia was getting angry now. She pulled away from Minerva roughly and stood up. She pulled out her wand. "I'll kill them! I'll kill them all!"

"Amelia, stop -"

"THEY'VE TAKEN SO MUCH FROM ME!" She screamed, making Minerva grateful for the muffling charm she had placed on the room. "I WANT THEM TO HURT THE WAY I AM! MY MOTHER, MY FATHER, MY GRANDPARENTS AND NOW MY BROTHER, SISTER-IN-LAW, AND NIECES AND NEPHEWS! I HAVE LOST SO MUCH AT THEIR HANDS! I WILL FIND THEM AND I WILL KILL THEM! I WILL FIND _HIM_!" She flicked her wand but nothing happened. "WHY CAN'T I APPARATE?! WHY ISN'T IT WORKING!?"

"Amelia, stop," Minerva said, standing up and walking towards her.

Amelia pointed her wand at her. "Don't touch me!"

Minerva put her hands up. "I know that there's nothing I can say that will make this pain go away. I know that you are hurting but hurting them won't make you feel better."

"You don't understand! You've haven't lost anyone to them! Jay was killed in a hospital! They were taken too soon!"

Minerva dropped her hands to her sides. "I know what you're doing and I'm not taking your bait. We are not going to duel right now."

Amelia glared at her but dropped her wand. She turned away from Minerva and took a few deep breaths.

"Amelia," Minerva said quietly. "Listen. I know you're hurting. I know that and I understand. We will win this fight. I promise you, we will. We will not let those who died, die in vain. We will make a world that they would have been proud of. We will."

Amelia fell to her knees. "Three..." she whispered, putting her head in her hands. "I'm down to three nieces and nephews."

Minerva walked over to her and sat down next to her. She put an arm around her and whispered, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. We are going to fix you up some tea, get you into a nice warm bed, and then you will stay here for a couple days."

"I - I can't... I have to go to work... and I have to -"

"No you don't. You are going to be a normal Ministry worker who takes weekends off," Minerva replied. "You'll stay here for a few days and then you can go back to work on Monday if you're feeling up to it. Until then we will stay in this house, play with Lucy, and forget about the war for a little while. Okay?"

There was silence for a long time before Amelia finally nodded, her head still in her hands. Minerva got up and helped her too her feet. She led her out of the office and towards the kitchen. Raj was there too. He looked up.

"Oh, should I go?" he asked as Minerva helped Amelia sit down at the table and moved over to the kitchen to make tea.

"N-no, th-that's okay," Amelia said with a shake of her head. She didn't look at him. She put her arms on the table and her head on her arms. She felt like such an idiot. She was intruding in their house, scaring the kids. She shouldn't have come here.

Raj looked at Minerva and she sighed and shook her head. She walked over to kettle and whispered, "her brother. His whole family. They're dead."

"Oh - oh my god," Raj said with wide eyes. "Steven or Edgar?"

"Edgar," she said. "I'm making more tea. Would you like some?"

Raj shook his head. He opened the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of whisky and two glass. "This is better than tea," he said, walking over towards the table. He set the glasses down on the table, making Amelia look up. Raj opened the bottle and started pouring it into the glasses. "Leave the tea. Bring a glass for yourself, Minerva."

Minerva looked at him for a second. She was about to protest when Amelia grabbed her glass and downed the contents. She set it down and motioned for Raj to pour her some more. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow but she just pushed her glass closer to him. He poured more whisky into the glass. Minerva sighed, picked up her own glass and walked over to the table. She set it down and Raj pours her a drink too. He and Minerva sat down and Amelia leaned back in her chair.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize," Raj said. "You have nothing to apologize for. When stuff like this happens you get to do whatever it is you need to do."

"I worry I may have scared Lucy," Amelia said with a sigh.

"She'll be fine," Minerva said. "Don't worry."

They sat in silence for a while and suddenly Amelia felt a wave of deja vu. She had been here before. She had sat with a drink in hand with these people after a death before. A little while after her parents and grandparents were killed. They had brought her out to cheer her up. She had sat here drinking with these people at least once every month for almost eight years of her life. She had missed this a lot these last two years. She looked at the empty seat at the table and sighed. There was just one thing missing and it would be exactly the same.

"When he died," Amelia said, looking up at Raj. "What did you do?"

"What did I do?" Raj asked.

Amelia nodded.

"This, I suppose," he said, leaning back in his chair too and taking a sip of his drink. "Put the kids to bed and drank."

They kept drinking, talking quietly every so often but mostly sitting in silence. Minerva looked down at her glass and sighed. This was another perfect opportunity to tell Raj about the war yet for some reason she still couldn't make herself do it.

Finally they got up and Minerva helped Amelia up the stairs. Raj stayed down to clean up before he would also come up and go to his own bedroom. Lucy heard the steps creak and quickly got off her bed. She ran towards the door and opened it just a crack. She saw her mother walking Amelia towards an empty bedroom. She waiting for a long time before Minerva walked back out of the room again and started towards her own room.

"Mommy," Lucy whispered, looking up at her mother with a frightened look on her face. Minerva looked over at her and sighed. She walked towards the bedroom and Lucy opened the door wider. Minerva leaned down and pulled her into a hug. Lucy wrapped her arms around Minerva's neck and whispered, "Is Aunty Amelia okay?"

"Yes, darling. Your Aunty Amelia will be okay," she said, picking her up into her arms and walking towards the bed. "Don't worry, my darling."

"What - what happened? Why was she crying? Did - did... is everything okay?" Lucy asked a little frantically. "I - I'm a little... a little scared."

Minerva sighed and put Lucy down in the bed. She kneeled down beside it and put a hand on Lucy's cheek. "It's okay, my love. It's just... well... Amelia's lost someone too now and so she's not feeling very well."

"Like... like when Daddy died."

Minerva nodded a little and combed Lucy's hair out of her face. "Yes, my love. You see, her brother and his family... they - they were in an accident. She's very sad but she'll be okay. Just like we're starting to be okay now."

Tears filled Lucy's eyes. "I - I cried a lot when Daddy died," she whispered, taking Minerva's hand in both of hers. "And I... I said some - some really... bad things."

"Oh, darling, it's okay. You know, a lot of people get angry when they're hurting," she whispered, moving to sit down on the bed beside Lucy. Lucy hugged her and buried her face in Minerva's side. Minerva wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed her forehead. "It's okay, love. Sometimes these things happen but we have to be strong and keep going. That's the only way we can make the one's we lost proud. They would want us to keep out heads up, my love."

"Mommy?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Will you stay with me just - just for tonight?"

"Of course, my love," Minerva whispered. She helped Lucy lay back in bed and put the blanket over her. "I just have to go get changed and then I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy whispered.

Minerva got up and sighed. She walked back to her own bedroom. As she changed into her pajamas she thought about Edgar and Karen Bones. She sighed and shook her head. How did they know? How did they find the Bones's safe house and what did that mean for everyone else's safe house? Was there really a leak in the Order? Who could possibly be a turncoat? They had done so many internal investigations, they had taken so many precautions, they had done everything right. Hadn't they?

Minerva walked back into Lucy's bedroom, closed the door and turned off the lights. She got into bed and Lucy immediately curled up beside her, leaning her head on Minerva's arm. Minerva kissed her forehead and told her goodnight. Lucy fell asleep quite quickly. Minerva listened to her rhythmic breathing and sighed again. She was finally getting better. She had stopped having nightmares and had started sleeping on her own again. She wished that Lucy had been in bed when Amelia had arrived. She wished Lucy hadn't seen Amelia that way. Amelia was a strong, confident woman so to see her in such a state was definitely a shock to anyone who had seen her before. To see her in such a state just affirmed Lucy's ideas that something was very, very wrong and Minerva had done everything she could to stop those ideas. She didn't want Lucy to worry about these things.

...

Minerva knocked on Amelia's bedroom door the next morning and heard her voice inviting her in. She opened the door to see Amelia standing by the bed, looking out the window.

"How are you feeling?" Minerva asked as she walks into the room.

Amelia gave her a small smile. "I'm fine," she said before looking back out of the window and avoiding Minerva's gaze. "I'm very sorry, Minerva. I was such a mess last night."

"It's alright. I understand," Minerva said with a small smile.

"I hope I didn't scare Lucy too much."

"She will be fine," Minerva replied with a small smile. "She was worried about you though. She wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"She is a good kid," she said with a sigh. She finally turned back to look at Minerva. "Well, I should get going. I've already put you out enough."

"No, no," Minerva said, walking over to her. "You're staying here and getting away from the war for a little while, remember? Here, I brought you some clothes and a toothbrush." She shoved the pile of clothes in Amelia's hands and put a packaged toothbrush on top of it. "Breakfast is in five minutes and I expect to see you there."

"Minerva -"

Before Amelia could protest, she saw a little head poke out in the doorway behind Minerva. She gave her a little smile and put the things Minerva had given her down on the bed. "Hello, Lucy."

Minerva turned around to see Lucy all dressed and ready for the day walk into the room looking a little frightened. Minerva gave her a smile as she watched her walk over to Amelia and take her hand.

"Aunty Amelia, are you okay?" she asked in a small voice.

Amelia smiled and kneeled down in front of her. "Yes, love. I'm okay."

Lucy smiled a little. "That's good," she said. "Sometimes when I'm sad Mum or Nina will hug me to make me feel better. Do you want a hug?"

"Sure," Amelia said with a smile. She opened her arms up and Lucy hugged her.

When they pull away, Amelia straightened up and picked the clothes back up. "Well, I guess I should get ready for the day too."

Minerva smiled. She held her hand out for Lucy. "Come on, darling. Let's let Aunty Amelia get changed and ready. We can go get some breakfast."

Lucy nodded and took her mother's hand. They walk out of the room and Minerva closed the door behind her. Amelia stared at the door for a second before moving to get ready for the day. When she was all ready, she walked down to the kitchen where everyone was sitting eating breakfast. Nina smiled at her and got up so Amelia could sit in her chair.

Amelia learned that Daniel and Raj were running away today because Nina's friends were coming over. Amelia smiled as she listened to Daniel try to justify to Nina why he didn't want to hang out with her and her friends.

"It's not that I don't like them, I just -"

"Don't want to be here when they're here?" Nina asked with a raised eyebrow. "They are great people."

"They are! I love all of them," Daniel said quickly. "I just don't like them when they're all together. Sixteen people, Nina! That's insane!"

"Sixteen?" Amelia asked. "Are you having a party?"

"A dinner party, yes," Nina said. "Just to celebrate the end of our first year. This is the first time we're all free at the same time in a long time."

"I think it sounds lovely," Raj said, "and I don't want to get in the way of you girls having your fun so I will leave you be. I have some work in London anyways."

"Don't think I don't know that you're actually running away too, Uncle Raj," Nina said, giving him a look.

"Nina, how dare you suggest such a thing. I would never," Raj said, putting his hand over his heart in mock hurt.

Lucy laughed and Nina shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, go, but I'm not saving any dinner for either of you," Nina said.

"Will you be coming back home tonight, Raj?" Minerva asked.

"No, I'll be back Monday," Raj said. "I think you guys will be okay without me for one day."

"Oh no, how could we ever survive?" Minerva said with a smile.

Raj smiled. "I know it will be difficult but I'm sure you'll be okay, Minerva," he said. "If you need help, Lucy can always help you. I always put her in charge when I leave."

"I'm in charge?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"Of course," Raj said.

"Do you want the house to burn down while you're gone?" Daniel asked. "Lucy can't be in charge!"

"Yes, I can!" Lucy said.

They laughed. They talked some more and then cleaned up breakfast. They hung out in the living room for a while, playing games and watching television. Then they had lunch. A little while afterwards, Daniel and Raj headed out and Nina started preparing for her friends to arrive. Minerva helped her in the kitchen with magic while Amelia and Lucy sat at the table and kept them company.

"And then I got stuck and I couldn't come down," Lucy said, telling her aunt about getting stuck in a tree last week. "And Uncle Raj had to come get me down."

Amelia smiled. "Well, at least you got to see the bluejays, right?"

"Yeah, they were cute. They were just babies!" Lucy said happily. "I went back to look at them again but they're not there anymore. The nest is still there but the birds are gone."

"Oh, they must have flown away," Amelia said.

"Do you think they'll come back?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know," she said.

"I hope they do," Lucy said. "When Nina's friends come over, Mum said that we can go to the park! Are you going to come with us?"

"If you want me to."

Lucy nodded vigorously. "You can see me do the monkey bars!" she said. "I'm pretty good at them now! I can do it forwards and backwards and can climb on top and swing upside down too!"

"Wow," Amelia said with a smile. "Well, I can't wait to see."

Lucy smiled. They talked for a while longer until Nina and Minerva were done in the kitchen. Nina's friends began arriving and they were all lovely. They did hug and kiss Lucy, fawning over her like a baby, but other than that Minerva couldn't see what Daniel and Raj had against them. That was until she heard them all sitting in the living room together. To say they were loud would be an understatement. They talked and laugh at a decibel that Minerva didn't think she would be able to reach screaming. They spoke mostly in Hindi, very fast, dipping into English every now and then.

"What are they saying?" Amelia asked. She, Minerva and Lucy were sitting in kitchen.

"They're talking about how big the house is and how well Nina has done for herself," Lucy said.

Minerva smiled and shook her head.

Soon they left for the park, leaving the noisy house behind. Lucy excitedly ran ahead while Minerva and Amelia walked behind her.

"It's a nice day," Minerva said.

"Hmm... yes," Amelia said a little absentmindedly.

Minerva looked over and gave her a little smile. "You know, you don't have to go back to work on Monday," she said. "If you're not feeling up to it, you can take some time off and stay here for a while or with Steven and Poppy or Emmeline."

"No, I'll go back tomorrow."

"No, you won't. I'm not letting you do that."

Amelia gave her a look. "And how do you plan to stop me?"

"The same way I did today," Minerva said with a smile. "Apparently you listen to Lucy better than you listen to me."

"She's much more persuasive," Amelia said with a small smile. "You are right though. Rochester is like a private little world untouched by the war. It's nice being here, getting away from it all for a while."

She nodded. "It's the only thing keeping me going."

They made it to the park and watched Lucy play. She showed them all her monkey bar tricks and had Amelia push her on the swings. Some of Lucy's friends came by and she played with them while Amelia and Minerva sat down on a bench and talked.

Eventually it was time to go home. They went back to Collins Mansion, Lucy running around excitedly telling them about her day, and had dinner in the kitchen while Nina and her friends ate in the dining room.

Amelia felt a little bit better eating with Minerva and Lucy. It was nice to leave the war behind even if it was for just one weekend. She had been letting it consume her day in day out for so long and now finally she had a little bit of peace. Maybe she should come back here more often.


	12. TLT -- 12

**_March 1992_**

 _Minerva picked Lucy up from her crib after her nap and walked over to the changing table to change her clothes and diaper. After that she put on the baby's coat, slippers, and hat. Lucy squirmed around a lot as Minerva tried to get her things on. "Ready to go see Daddy?"_

 _Minerva picked Lucy up off the table and walked down to the front door. She pulled the stroller out of the closet and unfolded it before laying Lucy down inside. She put on her own coat and shoes too before pulling out her wand, grabbing the stroller and Apparating the two of them to London. They reappeared in an alleyway near one of Jay's favourite restaurants. Minerva pushed the stroller in front of her as she walked out of the alleyway and onto the busy London sidewalks. Lucy babbled and pointed at things as they walked._

 _They made it to the restaurant and went inside. People were sitting inside chatting amongst themselves as they ate their lunches. Minerva walked over to the counter and ordered food to go for herself and Jay. The waitress told her that it would be a few minutes and she joined the others waiting for their own lunch. Lucy babbled loudly, attracting the attention of some of the other patrons. Some of them talked to her and Minerva, asking the baby's name and age. Minerva made polite small talk though she really just wanted to get her food and go._

 _Lucy was starting to get cranky so Minerva pulled out one of her toys to keep her busy. She handed it to her and it kept her attention for a little while before she got bored and threw the rattle away. It hit the leg of a young man nearby. He had blond hair and an almost cocky looking face. He looked up, leaned down and grabbed the rattle._

" _I'm so sorry," Minerva said, taking the rattle back from him._

" _That's quite alright," he said with a smile that didn't really reach his eyes. He looked into the stroller. "Cute baby. Are you babysitting?"_

" _Babysitting? No," Minerva said with a frown. "This is my daughter."_

" _Oh, I'm sorry," he said, smile fading. "Where did you adopt her from?"_

" _She is not adopted," Minerva said, unconsciously pulling the sunshield on the stroller down a little more to block Lucy from this man. "She is my biological daughter."_

" _Oh..." he said. "Are you married?"_

" _I am."_

" _And she's your husband's daughter?"_

" _She is."_

" _Where's your husband from?"_

" _He was born here in London," Minerva said, glaring at this man._

" _Where were his parents from then?"_

" _They were from India."_

" _Oh, so your daughter is half Indian. Weird," the man said. "Never seen that before."_

" _It's not_ _weird_ _," Minerva said angrily._

" _Sorry I didn't mean to make you upset," he said quickly. "I think it's cool that your daughter is mixed. I just never really seen that before. Mixed babies aren't that common here in England, I don't think."_

 _Minerva didn't want to talk to this man anymore. She heard her number called and pushed the stroller over to the counter to grab her order. She sent one last glare at the man before walking out of the restaurant and walking towards Jay's work. Lucy was babbling again and Minerva lifted the shield a bit and gave her a smile._

" _God, am I happy you can't understand people like that yet," she said with a shake of her head. "We'll be with Daddy soon, my love."_

 _It was about a ten minute walk from the restaurant to Jay's office and Minerva was angry the whole way. She did her best not to show it and smiled down at Lucy whenever she babbled or giggled. The fussy baby was no longer being fussy so that did helped. She made it to the building and went inside._

 _The girls at the front desk greeted her happily and cooed at Lucy when they walked up. Minerva was glad to be here with warm people who did not make stupid comments or hold idiotic ideologies. After a short conversation with the women at the front desk, Minerva pushed the stroller towards the elevator._

" _Minerva!"_

 _She turned to see Raj running towards her. Minerva gave him a smile. "Hello, Raj," she said. "How are you?"_

" _Good, good," Raj said, walking over. "Allow me." He took the stroller for her and pushed it towards the elevator. Minerva followed him. "And how is my little princess today?" He tickled Lucy's nose, making she giggled and grab his finger. He smiled and looked up at Minerva. "So, how are you, Minerva?"_

" _I'm... not great, actually," she said with a sigh._

" _Oh, really?" he said, smile fading and being replaced by a frown. "What's wrong?"_

 _She pushed the elevator button and sighed again. "Just some idiot at the restaurant I went to grab lunch from," she said, crossing her arms. She looked down at Lucy and gave her a small smile. "He was not very nice, was he darling?"_

" _What happened?" Raj asked with a frown as the elevator doors opened. He and Minerva walked inside and he looked over at her._

 _Minerva shook her head. "Just an idiot," she said. "Asked me if I was babysitting and then if Lucy was adopted."_

 _Raj sighed. "What was his name?"_

" _Don't know," she said. "Never gave me his name."_

" _I'm sorry that happened to you," he said. "Some people are just stupid." He reached into the stroller and picked Lucy up, tossing her up and down a little. "I mean, look at this beautiful little girl. She looks just as beautiful as her mother."_

 _Minerva smiled a little and shook her head. "Again, Raj, you flatter me," she said. She held up her hand. "Unfortunately I'm taken."_

 _Raj laughed. "Of course," he said. "A shame."_

 _He held Lucy up in his arms and motioned for Minerva to go when the doors opened. She walked through the doors and he pushed the stroller out after her. She led the way down to Jay's office and he followed._

" _Hello, Maria," Minerva said with a smile._

 _Maria, Jay's assistant, looked up and smiled. She was tall, thin young woman with brown hair tied up in a stylish bun and brown eyes. She wore red blush and black eyeliner but looked very natural despite it. She was wearing a pencil skirt and matching blazer. She always had a very happy and bright aura around her. Everything Maria did was always done wholeheartedly with a huge genuine smile. Minerva thought that you could mug this girl and she would hand over her money with a smile on her face while complementing your mugging skills._

" _Mrs. McGonagall! It's good to see you again," Maria said happily as Minerva and Raj walked over to the desk. "Did you have a good weekend?"_

" _It was alright," Minerva said, taking Lucy from Raj. "How was yours?"_

" _Oh, can't complain," she said with a smile. She walked around the desk and cooed at Lucy. "Hello, little Miss Collins! How are you doing?"_

 _Minerva smiled and handed Lucy to Maria. She looked at Raj and gave him a smile. "Will you be joining me, Jay, and Lucy for lunch, Raj?"_

" _You know I would love to but, I, unfortunately, have a lunch meeting," he said with a sigh. "So, this is where I will leave you. Lunch smells good by the way."_

" _Thank you," Minerva said with a smile, taking the stroller from him. "Have a nice rest of the day."_

 _Raj gave a little salute before saying goodbye to Maria and Lucy as well and heading back to his office. Minerva took Lucy back from Maria and smiled._

" _Is Jay in?" she asked._

" _He's at a meeting but he should be here soon," she said, walking back around her desk and sitting back down._

 _Minerva pulled up a chair from a desk nearby and sat down in front of her. "So, how are you Maria?"_

" _I'm good, thank you for asking," she said. "Mr. Collins been really busy lately. Lots of meetings. Each meeting comes with files and documents that I have to go through, sort and file away so that's very fun."_

" _I'm sorry my husband's been working you so hard," Minerva said with a smile._

" _No, it's not a problem," she said with a laugh. "I like the work. Certainly beats sitting here and doing nothing all day. I've had jobs like that and I must say I much prefer being on my feet, actually doing things."_

" _How old were you when you got this job?" Minerva asked._

" _Seven years ago now, I believe, so eighteen," Maria said. "I was actually really surprised I got the job. I was the youngest applicant and I honestly only applied because at that point I just needed a job anywhere. I applied for a lot of jobs that I was very unqualified for. For some reason Mr. Collins liked me and hired me."_

 _Minerva smiled. "Well, I can definitely see what he saw," she said. "You're a great addition to the Collins Enterprises team. I expect Jay will try to keep you around for as long as he can. He's always raving about you."_

 _Maria smiled and her cheeks went a little more red. "I really appreciate that, Mrs. McGonagall, " she said. "I hope to stay on for a long time. I really do love this job and, not to toot my own horn or anything but, I think I'm really good at it."_

" _You are," Minerva said with a smile._

" _I love working with Mr. Collins and Mr. Patil," she said. "And then you, Daniel, and Lucy are just an added bonus."_

" _You do too much for us, Maria," Minerva said with a smile. "You spoil us."_

 _Maria laughed. "I do what I can," she said. "It's really no trouble."_

" _Will you be taking your lunch break soon?" she asked._

" _I will as soon as Mr. Collins returns from his meeting," Maria replied. "How was your day? Did I ask that already?"_

 _Minerva smiled. "No, it was alright," she said. "Until I went to the Anthony's to get lunch for myself and Jay. A young man asked me if Lucy was adopted."_

" _That's horrible!" Maria said. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."_

 _Minerva waved her hand dismissively. "It's not your fault," she said, putting a hand on Lucy's stomach and fixing her shirt. "I knew that things like this would happen every now and again. I'm just glad Lucy's not old enough to understand what that means yet."_

" _It's still horrible," Maria said sadly. "I think that - oh, hello, Mr. Collins."_

" _Hello," Jay said cheerfully, walking towards the desk. "Hello, my love."_

 _He leaned down and gave Minerva a kiss. Minerva smiled. "Hello, darling," she said. "How was your meeting?"_

" _It went well," Jay said, setting his files on Maria's desk before reaching down and taking Lucy from Minerva. He bounced her up and down and she giggled. He kissed her cheek. "Hello, my beautiful darling! Aren't you happy to see me?"_

 _Minerva smiled as he played with Lucy and made her laugh more. Lucy did seem very happy to see her father. She was always very happy to see him. Minerva thought the baby enjoyed these lunch visits just as much as she did._

" _So, what were the two of you talking about before I rudely interrupted?" Jay asked, holding Lucy properly now and looking between Maria and Minerva._

" _Oh, it was nothing," Minerva said._

" _Some guy in Anthony's Diner asked Minerva if Lucy was adopted," Maria said. Minerva gave her a look and her eyes widened. "Sorry, was I not supposed to say anything?"_

" _A man asked you if Lucy was adopted?" Jay asked with a frown._

" _It's nothing for you to worry about, darling. We're fine," Minerva said, getting up and grabbing Lucy's stroller. "Maria, you should really take your lunch break as well. I can hear your stomach growling."_

" _I will, thank you, Mrs. McGonagall," Maria said, standing up and getting the door for Minerva. "Have a good lunch."_

" _Thank you, Maria," Minerva said as she walked in with the stroller._

" _Yes, thank you," Jay said as he walked through with Lucy still in his arms. Maria closed the door behind them and they walked over to Jay's desk. He pulled a chair over to sit down while Minerva took his seat. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"_

" _Not much to tell. He asked me if I was babysitting, I said no. He asked me if she was adopted, I said no," Minerva said as she pulled out the food she had bought for them. She pushed Jay's takeout box and fork towards him before opening her own. "Then he asked me if she was my husband's child too and I said yes."_

" _Wow," Jay said. "He sounds like an -"_

" _May I remind you that you are holding a baby," Minerva said with a small smile._

" _A very not nice person," Jay finished. "I wasn't going to say anything bad."_

" _Wow, a very not nice person?" Minerva said with a laugh. "You watch your mouth, Jay Collins."_

" _I'm so sorry," Jay said with a laugh. He looked down at Lucy and bounced her up and down. "You know you're not adopted, right love? We were so happy when we found out you were coming and you were very hard on your mother. She went through a lot so no one could ever say you were adopted."_

 _Minerva smiled and shook her head._

 _Lucy gurgled in response making Jay laugh. He unzipped her coat and took it off her, putting it down on his desk, before sitting her down in his lap and looking at his food. "This looks great," he said. "Thank you for bringing lunch, even if it was quite an adventure."_

" _Of course," Minerva said, picking up her diaper bag from under the stroller seat and pulling out a bottle for Lucy as well. She held it out and he took it from her, shifting Lucy in his lap and giving her the bottle. "So anyways, how's your day been so far, darling?"_

" _It's been alright," he replied with a mouth full of food. "Lots of meetings, reports to go through, budget things. Oh, tomorrow I have a lunch meeting so I won't be able to do lunch with you two unfortunately."_

 _Minerva nodded. "That's alright," she said. "We'll find something to entertain us if we must spend the whole day without you."_

" _A travesty, I know."_

 _Minerva smiled. "Very much so," she said. "But we'll manage, I'm sure. Though, these lunches are my only chance at real adult conversation."_

" _Didn't you talk to your mother and Amelia on the phone yesterday?" Jay asked with a smile._

" _Yes but no one but Mother comes to visit me anymore," she said with a sigh. "I get lonely home all alone you know."_

" _I'm so sorry, love," Jay said. "Everyone is very busy with everything going on in the Wizarding World right now."_

" _I know," Minerva said with a sigh. "Another one of Riddle's rallies ended in a riot last week. Which is why we haven't seen Amelia in so long. She's been very busy dealing with these idiots."_

 _Jay sighed. "We shouldn't talk about this in front of the baby," he said, looking down at Lucy. "I feel like she can understand more than we give her credit for."_

 _Minerva smiled. "I'm sure she does."_

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, June 9th_** ** _1998_**

Minerva was in her bedroom doing some cleaning and reorganising. She had taken all the clothes out of the closet and sorted them into piles of which to keep and which to donate. Lucy was laying on her bed humming as she read one of her mother's books.

"Mum?"

"Yes?"

"What is _lycanthropy_?" Lucy said. "It talks about it here but it doesn't say what it is."

"Lycanthropy is a condition that some people have where they transform into a wolf every full moon," Minerva explained, looking over at the bed.

"Oh! Like a werewolf," Lucy said.

"Yes."

"That's cool," she said. "Have you seen Teen Wolf? Is it like that?"

"Um, no, but it is not a fun illness, Lucy," Minerva said, walking over to the bed as clothes moved around on their own behind her. "It is a very hard thing to live with. When a werewolf transforms he can be quite dangerous. They don't keep their mind when they transform like an Animagus does so they can't control what they do."

"Oh," Lucy said, excitement fading.

"But that doesn't mean that they can't be wonderful people," she said, sitting down and looking at the page Lucy was reading. "Their condition doesn't have to define them. It is something that they will have to learn to deal with but they can still be great people."

"Do you know any werewolves?" Lucy asked.

"I do. I know one," Minerva said with a smile. "And he is one of the kindest and bravest men I know."

"Can I meet him?"

"Maybe someday," Minerva said, tousling Lucy's hair. She got back up and returned to her sorting.

Lucy closed her book and got off the bed. She walked over to where her mother was and looked at the piles of clothes. "I thought you liked that one," she said, pointing to a black dress on the donation pile.

"Eh, I never wear it," Minerva replied. Lucy nodded. She sat down on the floor and started digging through the pile of donation clothes while more clothes continued to fly out of the closet and await Minerva's decision. Minerva looked over at Lucy. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"No, just looking," Lucy said, pulling out another dress. This one was black and green. "You wear a lot of black."

"You wear a lot of dark colours too," Minerva said with a smile as she wave her hand dismissively at an emerald green robe and it flew into the donation pile.

"That is true," Lucy said with a nod. "But I wear a lot of different dark colours. You only wear green and black."

"Dark blue and dark red and black. Those are not a lot of different dark colours," Minerva pointed out.

Lucy laughed. "More than you."

Minerva picked up a tartan shawl and threw it over Lucy. "There's some red in there as well," she said.

Lucy laughed again as she pulled the shawl off her head. She put it over her shoulders and kept looking around for something else. She found a pointy black hat and put it on her head. She stood up. " _There's some red in there as well."_

Minerva turned around and looked down at her daughter dressed in her clothes. She raised an eyebrow at her but smiled. "Very funny."

" _Very funny."_

"Lucy."

" _Lucy._ "

"Okay, I'm ignoring you now," Minerva said, turning back to her closet.

" _Okay, I'm ignoring you now_ ," Lucy repeated again happily.

Minerva rolled her eyes and ignored her. Lucy waited for a little while but eventually gave up. She walked back to the bed, shawl and hat still on, and climbed up. She started jumping on the bed. Minerva turned around and gave her a look but she kept jumping.

"So, like, now I'm a full-fledged witch," she said.

"I don't think that just by wearing my hat and shawl you become a full-fledged witch," Minerva muttered.

"What do witches do?" Lucy wondered aloud, ignoring Minerva. "They're not usually very nice in stories. They usually use their magic for evil! But I'm not evil... I think."

Minerva laughed. "No, I don't think you're very evil, Lucy. I'm not evil either."

"Maybe I am evil!" Lucy exclaimed, still jumping on the bed. "And I turn people into frogs like the witch in The Princess and the Frog!"

"Well that's not very nice," Minerva said with a smile.

"I'm not very nice. I'm evil, remember!"

Minerva rolled her eyes but smiled. She turned back to her work. Just then there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey!" Nina said with a smile, coming into the room. "I just got back and was wondering where everyone was."

"Hello, sweetheart," Minerva said. "How was your day?"

"It was good," she said with a smile.

"Hey, Nina! I'm a witch and I turned you into a frog!" Lucy exclaimed.

Nina gave her a look. "But I don't want to be a frog," she said. "I would much rather be a person."

"You don't get to decide. I do!" Lucy said with a laugh, pretending to flick a wand at Nina. "I'm an evil witch and you're a frog now."

Nina laughed. She climbed up onto the bed and pretended to jump like a frog towards Lucy. She croaked like a frog. "Ribit! Ribit!" Lucy laughed. Nina jumped and grabbed her. "We must take down the evil witch!"

"No!" Lucy laughed as she fell backwards with Nina on top of her. Nina started tickling her. "No! Nina... haha... stop! No! Haha... please!"

Minerva turned around and watched them play. She shook her head though she smiled. "You're both ridiculous."

Nina grabbed the hat from Lucy's head and put it onto her own. "Now I'm the witch and I turn myself back into a person," she said, pointing her finger at herself. She then pointed her finger back at Lucy. "And you will be my servant. I enslave you with magic!"

"That's not nice," Lucy said with a laugh.

"Well you weren't a very nice witch to begin with, now we're you?"

"No, I was evil," she said, getting back up. She took off her shawl and put it on Nina. "Okay, you're the witch. Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

"Hmm... I think I'm a good witch," Nina said with a smile. "I free you from my enslavement. We don't do that here in my kingdom."

"Yay!"

"See isn't being a good witch much better?" Nina said.

"Sure," Lucy said with a laugh.

Nina got up from the bed and walked over to where Minerva was still sorting clothes. She looked down at the pile of clothes. "You're getting rid of all these clothes?"

"Yes," Minerva said. "I don't really wear them and they're just cluttering up my closet now. Some of these are even older than Lucy."

"Wow," Lucy said, jumping off the bed and walking over as well.

Nina reached down and pulled out a dress. "This one's cute."

"If you like any of them you can have them," Minerva said.

"Do you want to help me go through these clothes, Lucy?" Nina asked, sitting down on the floor in front of pile of clothes.

"Okay!" Lucy said, running over to her.

Nina pulled Lucy into her lap, took off Minerva's hat and put it back on Lucy's head. She pulled up dress after dress, asking Lucy her opinion, and then threw them into two separate piles. A small pile of clothes she would keep and a larger pile of donation clothes. Minerva finished sorting through her clothes and sent the ones that she was keeping back into the closet. She looked over at Lucy and Nina and smiled.

"Lucy, do you have any clothes you would like to donate? You've grown so there are probably some clothes in your closet that don't fit you anymore," Minerva said.

"Yeah," she said. "Probably."

"I probably have some too," Nina said. "I've been meaning to clean my and Daniel's closet for awhile now. I guess we can do a late spring cleaning, huh?"

"I guess," Lucy said, not really wanting to spend her time cleaning.

Nina smiled. "Hey, you know what that means right?"

"What?" Lucy asked curiously.

"If we get rid of all of the old clothes that are taking up too much space in our closet," Nina said with a smile, "we get to replace them with new clothes!"

"So we can go shopping!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Yes!" Nina replied.

Minerva rolled her eyes but smiled. "This is supposed to be about decluttering and downsizing," she said. "Not getting an excuse to buy more things."

"When should we go?" Nina said, ignoring Minerva. Lucy shrugged.

"You haven't even cleaned yet," Minerva persisted.

"Are you and Daniel going to come with us?" Lucy asked her mother.

"You do need more Muggle clothes," Nina pointed out.

"Do I?" Minerva asked.

"Yeah, you need more casual clothes. I mean, whenever you go out with us you're super dressed up," Nina said. "We'll be over here wearing jumpers and jeans and you're there in your long dresses looking all fancy."

Lucy laughed while Minerva rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for wanting to look nice," she said with a shake of her head.

"I never said that you shouldn't look nice," Nina said with a laugh. "I'm just saying that you don't have to show us up all the time. Right, Lucy?"

"Right," Lucy said. "Besides, dresses suck."

"No, they don't," Minerva said with a smile.

"They do," Lucy replied matter-of-factly.

"Alright well, get up off my floor. Both of you," she said, ushering them up. "Get to work in your own rooms."

Lucy and Nina stood up, Nina clutching the clothes she had pulled out of Minerva's pile. As they walked towards the door Minerva flicked her wand and her donation clothes flew into a plastic bag. The bags floated down the stairs towards the entrance. Lucy watched them go and then turned back to her mother.

"Mum?" she said. "Will you help me do my closet?"

"Of course, darling," Minerva said with a smile. Lucy smiled, took her hand and pulled her pulled her towards her own bedroom.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, June 20th_** ** _1998_**

"Why do I have to go too? I don't need more clothes," Daniel said, crossing his arms and leaning back on the couch. It had been a week since everyone had cleaned out their closets and Nina and Lucy planned a shopping trip for the five of them to buy some new clothes. "I'll just be carrying your bags, won't I? Why can't they just ask Maria to get them whatever they want? Maria can get them anything!"

"Oh stop whining," Minerva said, flopping down in an armchair. "I'm being dragged out too. Never really liked shopping, now did you?"

"Neither did you," Daniel pointed out. "If it weren't for Dad neither of us would have ever bought any new clothes."

Minerva smiled, thinking back to family shopping trips that usually started the same way as this. Minerva and Daniel sitting in the living room whining while someone else pulled them out the door. "He didn't like shopping for himself but he did love dragging us out of the house and buying us things."

Daniel smiled a little. He sighed. "And now I have Nina to make sure I buy new clothes. Though, I do think she does this a lot more often than he did."

"She does like to shop," Minerva said with a smile, "and so does Lucy now."

"Nina's fault."

Just then Minerva heard laughter coming down the stairs. "Here comes the little monster," she said.

Daniel smiled as Raj and Lucy walked into the living room. Lucy was sitting up on Raj's shoulders. She had to duck so she wouldn't hit her head on the top of the archway into the living room. She and Raj were already wearing their coats and shoes.

"Ready to go?" Lucy asked excitedly. "Ready to go?"

"I guess," Daniel mumbled. "Where's Nina?"

"She's coming," Raj said, tossing Daniel and Minerva their coats. "Shall we head out?"

"Let's go, let's go!" Lucy cheered. "Get up, get up!"

"I'm getting up. I'm getting up," Minerva said, standing up with a groan.

"Getting old, Minerva?" Raj asked with a laugh.

Minerva gave him a look as she put on her coat. Daniel stood up too and walked with them to the entrance. Nina walked down the stairs and saw them. She got on her shoes and coat as well and off they went. Raj drove them to the mall and they went from shop to shop looking through the racks.

"I honestly don't know why I'm here," Daniel mumbled. He was carrying half of Lucy, Nina, and Minerva's bags while Raj carried the other half. Nina had taken Lucy to try on the clothes so Raj, Minerva, and Daniel were going through racks of clothes alone, waiting for them.

Minerva smiled as she looked through some clothes. "You whine a lot."

"Lighten up, Daniel," Raj said with a laugh. "It's not so bad."

He gave them both a look. "I think I might go back to the car," he mumbled. "I could go home and pick you guys up later."

"Or," Minerva said, "you could enjoy spending time with your family. That's always a good option as well."

"Augh."

She laughed and looked over at him. "You didn't find anything in the men's section?"

"He didn't like anything I pulled out for him," Raj said.

"How old are you again?" Minerva asked.

"Nineteen, not as old as you obviously as I can remember my age," he said. Minerva gave him a look. He smiled and pulled an ugly looking blouse out. "I think this would look great on you."

"I agree," Raj said with a laugh.

She looked over at Daniel and raised an eyebrow. He just smiled and put the shirt back. Minerva rolled her eyes and pulled out a black blouse. "What about this one?"

"That's nice," Raj replied. "Are you going to go try these clothes on?"

"No, I don't feel like it."

He smiled. Nina and Lucy came back holding a few shirts each. Lucy walked over to her mother and held up the clothes in her hands.

"I'm going to get these ones," she said.

"Those look nice," Minerva said with a smile. "But wouldn't you like to get a little bit more colour in your closet. You have a lot of these same colours."

"That's what I said," Nina muttered, walking up to Daniel and putting an arm around his waist. He smiled and pulled her closer.

"I like these colours," Lucy replied.

"Okay," Raj said. "Why don't we pay for these and then we can go get some food from the food court."

Daniel nodded and grabbed Lucy's clothes from her hands. He held out a hand for Minerva's clothes as well. Minerva handed him the clothes in her arm and then took Lucy's hand. "Come on, we can go find a table while they pay."

Lucy nodded and walked out of the store with Minerva. Mineva led the way to the food court and looked around. The mall was pretty packed today. It seemed like all of Rochester was out shopping today.

"Do you see a free table?"

Lucy didn't respond so Minerva looked down at her. "Lucy?"

Lucy quickly looked up. "What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

Minerva smiled. "That's alright, what are you thinking about?"

Lucy shrugged and pointed a little ways away. "There's an open table," she let go of her mother's hand and ran towards the table.

Minerva smiled and walked after her. They sat down at the table and Minerva looked around at the line of fast food places. "Where would you like to get food from?"

Lucy shrugged. "What do you feel like? Maybe burgers?"

"Burgers sound good," Minerva said. "We'll wait for Raj, Daniel and Nina first though."

"Mum?"

"Yes, love?"

"The other day I was reading about The Witch Trials," she said a little nervously. "They used to burn people at the stake because they thought they were witches."

"That was a long time ago, Lucy," Minerva said with a small smile. "They don't do that anymore."

"That's why you're not supposed to tell anyone," she looked around quickly and lowered her voice, "that you can do magic."

"Yes, it was, but that's not really the worry anymore," Minerva said. She took Lucy's hand and smiled. "Don't worry, darling. No one's going to burn you at the stake."

Lucy smiled. "I know... I just... why would they do that? That's so stupid."

"It is stupid," Minerva said. "I don't really know why they would do that. I mean it happened hundreds of years ago, people thought differently than they do now."

"They used to torture women to make them admit that they were a witch and then they would burn them," Lucy said. "I read some of the stuff they used to do... it was scary."

"Why are you reading that?" Minerva said. "You shouldn't be reading that stuff."

Lucy shrugged. "Uncle Raj wouldn't burn us at the stake if we told him about magic."

Minerva smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't think he would," she said, "but that's not why we haven't told him."

"I still don't get why we can't tell him. He's our family," Lucy said.

"I don't know, Lucy," Minerva said with a sigh. "Now is just not a good time."

Lucy sighed as she sat back in her chair and looked around the food court. She saw Raj, Nina and Daniel walking towards the food court and waved. They saw her and came over.

"Okay, we eat and then we leave. I think we've done enough shopping for the day," Daniel said, putting the bags down under the table.

"Oh but we still haven't gone to -"

"No, it's getting late and I want to go home," Daniel said cutting across Nina. Raj, Minerva and Lucy laughed. "Lucy, what do you want?"

"Daniel, why are you so grumpy?" she asked instead of placing an order.

"I'm not grumpy. Now, do you want to eat or not?"

"Okay, okay. I'll have a cheeseburger without tomatoes," she said quickly.

Daniel took everyone else's order as well and then got up to buy the food. Minerva watched him go and shook her head. "He's a little grumpy."

"A little?" Lucy said.

Nina laughed. "He doesn't like shopping and he has a headache," she said. "We should probably just go home after we eat."

"I'm alright with that," Raj said with a smile. "We have done a lot of shopping today. The three of you bought a lot of stuff."

"Oh, and you didn't?" Minerva asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"I, unlike you, Minerva it seems, can control myself," Raj said with a laugh.

"I can control myself just fine, thank you very much," Minerva replied.

"I wanted to go to the bookstore quickly before we leave," Lucy said. "Can we go? Please?"

"Alright, that is a store I would be willing to go to," Minerva said with a smile. "I'll talk to Daniel."

"Yay!" Lucy said.

"This is controlling yourself?" Raj asked, earning him a look from Minerva.

Nina laughed and shook her head. They waited for Daniel to return and they ate their food. Minerva talked to Daniel and he begrudgingly agreed to go to one last store. They walked across the mall towards the bookstore and Lucy dragged Minerva into the fiction section. She pointed at books on the high shelves and Minerva pulled them down for her.

Lucy looked at a book and read the summary. "This one is about a princess named Lia," she said, "who fights a dragon. Anne said it was good."

Minerva looked at some other books. Muggles definitely loved books about magic. She smiled to herself as she read a ridiculous magic spellbook. She shook her head and put it away. She took Lucy to the front desk so she could pay for her books and then found Raj, Nina and Daniel waiting in the science fiction section. Raj was reading a little bit of a book while Daniel told Nina, who looked a little bored, all about the intricacies of some fictional universe that she cared very little about. Nina rolled her eyes and told him that it was time to go. This made him happy. He took Lucy's bag of books, putting it with the others, and led the way back to the car.


	13. TLT -- 13

**_August 1995_**

 _Lucy quietly reached up and turned the doorknob of Daniel's room. She opened the door and poked her head in. Daniel was sitting on his bed with a book in hand when she entered. He looked up and gave her a small smile._

" _They're yelling again," she whispered._

 _He sighed and nodded. "I know, kid," he said, motioning for her to come over. She walked to the bed and climbed up beside him. He put an arm around her. "It'll be okay, Lucy. Sometimes mommies and daddies fight but it'll be okay."_

" _Why are they fighting?" she asked, looking up at him._

" _I - I don't know," he said honestly. "Probably something stupid. I'm sure they'll get over it and make up soon."_

 _Lucy sighed but doesn't respond. In the silence she could hear the sounds of yelling from the floor below. She couldn't make out what was being said but whatever it was could not be good. She just wanted her mother and father to stop fighting and be happy. This was their third big fight just this month._

 _Daniel saw her getting sad again so closed his book and tossed it to the corner of the bed. "Hey, how about we do something?" he said. "We could play a game or I could read you a story."_

 _She looked up at him for a second before nodding. "Can you read me a comic?"_

 _Daniel smiled and nodded. He climbed over her and got off the bed. He walked over to the bookshelf. "Hmm..." he said, running his finger across the line of comic books, "where did we leave off last time?"_

 _He grabbed the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic from the one they finished the last time he read to her and walked back to the bed. He got back into his spot, pulled the blankets around them and started reading. Lucy snuggled closer so she would be able to see the pictures better and smiled as Daniel started reading._

...

" _How could you leaving do anything to protect us?!" Jay yelled downstairs in the kitchen. He was standing opposite Minerva, the kitchen table sitting in between them._

" _I put you in danger every time I Apparate to or from this bloody house!" Minerva exclaimed, slamming her wine glass down on the kitchen table._

" _And what about the children!" he yelled back, glaring at her. He was very angry now and was about to say something that he would surely regret later. "They need you! Don't you care about them!?"_

" _Jay! How - what! Of course I care about them! That's why I have to leave! Because I love them... and if you loved them too you would let me go!" she screamed, tears fell down her cheeks. "Don't you want to protect them? How can you keep me around when I put them in danger?!"_

 _He glared at her and shouted, "Because I love you!"_

 _Minerva stopped. She took a couple deep breaths. When she spoke next her voice was quiet and soft. "I love you too, my darling," she whispered. "I love all three of you so much and that's why I must go. I couldn't bear to think of something happening to you because of me. Because some Death Eater follows me home or You-Know-Who somehow finds out about you. I have to go, even though it'll kill me to leave you."_

 _Jay stared at her for a long time before flopping down in a chair. He rubbed his tired eyes with his hands before picking up the glass of wine he had set down before their fight and downing the contents. Minerva walked closer to the table and picked her own back up but did not sit down. He avoided looking at her._

" _It's not just you. It's Isobel, Malcolm, Robert and them. Amelia and Albus as well," Jay mumbled._ _He was no longer angry, just disappointed. He loved this woman but he could not understand what she was saying now. No matter how many times she explained her reasons he would never understand why her leaving them would be the best option._ _"That's so many people that Daniel and Lucy are losing. All at once."_

" _I know," Minerva said with a sigh, "b-but it's safer this way, Jay. It is."_

" _And who will help Lucy? She's a witch too. She's doing so much magic already. She needs someone to help her understand it and Daniel and I are not those people."_

" _I know," Minerva said again sadly, "but it is dangerous for me to stay. The war is getting more intense and I don't want to put you or the children in danger."_

" _You think it will be safer if you leave?"_

" _Yes."_

" _And who will explain that to Lucy and Daniel? They are children, Minerva! They won't understand," Jay exclaimed._

" _I know," Minerva agreed. She walked around the table to her husband and placed a hand on his. He turned his hand over and their fingers interlocked. Minerva gave his hand a little squeeze. "I know they won't understand and I know that Lucy needs me here to help her understand her magic but it is important that I leave for now. I don't want a Death Eater to follow me here or for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to find out about you all. I want you to stay safe and for this war to be over and so I must leave."_

" _But you will return?"_

" _Yes, when the war is over I will return," Minerva said with a smile._

 _Jay looked up at his wife. He tried to look reassuring but Minerva could see the hurt and sadness in his eyes. He hadn't forgiven her. She wondered if he would. If only he could understand how much this hurt her as well. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay. She wanted to watch Lucy and Daniel grow up. She wanted to be there for Daniel's graduation and to see him off to university. She wanted to take Lucy to her first day of school and hear all about it when she got home. She just had to fight this war first. She had to fight and win and then. Then she could be with her family again._

" _Alright," Jay said finally, breaking the silence. His voice was neutral and his expression unreadable, "but if anything happens and you need a safe space, come home. You will always be welcome here."_

 _She smiled a little and leaned down so she could hug him. He kissed her cheek. It wasn't the same. Minerva still felt the hesitation and the disappointment in their interactions. He was trying very hard to forgive her, she knew he was, but he had yet to do so. When they pulled away Minerva wiped the tears away from her face and sighed. He sighed too and looked at his now empty wine glass, also feeling the same off feeling she was._

" _When are you going to leave?"_

" _As soon as possible."_

" _Stay for Lucy's birthday," he said quietly. "She deserves to have her mother there when she turns four."_

 _Minerva nodded. "I will."_

 _He stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "I need a scotch."_

 _She sighed. She downed the rest of her wine before getting up too. "The children are probably awake still."_

" _I don't think anyone could have slept through that," he muttered, back to her as he poured his drink._

" _I'll go check on them," she said quietly. "I'll see you in the bedroom."_

 _He didn't respond so she left the kitchen. Minerva walked up the stairs and saw Lucy's bedroom door wide open. She sighed and walked to Daniel's bedroom. She knocked on the door and heard him say, "come in."_

 _She opened the door to see him sitting on the bed with Lucy beside him. He had a comic book open that he had been reading to her. Minerva smiled. "It's time for bed, my darlings," she said. "Lucy say goodnight to Daniel."_

 _Lucy looked over at Daniel and he gave a little nod. "Goodnight, Daniel."_

" _Night, kid," he replied with a smile. She climbed off the bed and walked towards the door. Minerva gave her a small smile and picked her up into her arms. Daniel looked over at her and said, "night, Min."_

" _Goodnight, darling," she said, closing Daniel's door and walking towards Lucy's bedroom. "It is way past your bedtime, my love."_

 _Lucy didn't say anything. She just wrapped her arms around Minerva's neck tightly and hugged her. Minerva smiled a little. They walked to the bedroom and Minerva put Lucy down on the bed. She kneeled down on the floor next to the bed and helped Lucy under the blankets. Lucy looked at her and reached a hand out to touch Minerva's cheek._

" _Mommy crying?"_

" _I'm not crying, my love," Minerva said. She gave her a small smile but she knew that her red eyes was probably what gave her away. Lucy didn't look very convinced. Minerva put a hand on her little one that was still on Minerva's cheek. Lucy was copying what she had seen Minerva and Jay do when she cried._

" _Why were you fighting?" Lucy asked quietly._

" _Oh you don't have to worry about that. We're sorry that we made it hard for you to sleep," Minerva said, brushing her fingers through Lucy's hair. "We aren't fighting anymore."_

" _You and Daddy made up?"_

 _Minerva smiled. "Yes, your father and I made up."_

" _Good!" Lucy said with a smile. "You and Daddy shouldn't fight."_

" _We won't, my love," Minerva said. She looked at the time and sighed. "Alright, time to go to sleep, darling. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"_

" _Okay," Lucy whispered. "Goodnight."_

" _Goodnight, my darling," Minerva whispered, leaning down and giving Lucy a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep tight."_

 _She got up off the floor and walked to the door. She turned off the lights and closed the door before heading back to her bedroom. Jay still hadn't come upstairs yet. Minerva sighed and got changed. When she was already for bed, Jay still hadn't come back. Minerva got into bed and tried to get some sleep but she couldn't. Time past slowly and sleep still evaded her._

 _Finally she heard the stairs outside creak. Jay walked into the bedroom but she didn't greet him. He looked over at her before walking towards the closet to get changed. Minerva sighed and turned to look at the clock on the bedside table. It was much too late. She felt angry at Jay for not coming to bed sooner. Jay came back to the bed._

" _I know you're awake," he mumbled as he got in._

" _Are you drunk?" she asked._

" _Maybe a little," he replied honestly. He sighed and moved closer to her. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. This embrace felt a lot warmer than the last one had. It felt more sincere, more real. "I'm sorry."_

 _She smiled and hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry too, my love. I'm sorry for everything."_

" _You don't have to be. You're just doing what's best," he whispered. "I never should have implied that you didn't care about Lucy and Daniel."_

" _I did the same to you," she whispered. "And I'm still sorry."_

" _Let's not waste the few day you have left before you leave fighting," he said._

 _Minerva smiled and nodded. He smiled too and kissed her._

* * *

 ** _Thursday, June 25th 1998_**

"It's over! It's over! Yay summer!"

"Is your school year over?" Minerva asked as Lucy ran into the kitchen and threw her backpack on the chair. "I wouldn't know. It's not like you've been yelling about it all week."

Lucy and Nina laughed. Lucy ran up to her mother, putting her elbows up on the table, and said, "You're off school too, right?"

"Yes."

"And so is Daniel and Nina so we can all do something together!" Lucy said excitedly. She looked over at Nina who was standing in the kitchen looking for something to eat. "Maybe Uncle Raj can take some time off work and we could all go somewhere on vacation!"

Nina looked at her and smiled. "Maybe," she said, opening up the pantry and looking inside. "We can ask him and Daniel when they come home."

"Where do you want to go?" Minerva asked.

Lucy shrugged. "Anywhere! Anywhere away from here."

Minerva smiled. "Okay, little one. Why don't you go get changed out of your uniform before you do anything else."

Lucy nodded and ran out of the kitchen singing about school being over. Minerva smiled and shook her head. "She is very excited."

"Don't worry. In about a week she's going to be bored out of her mind and wishing school was still going on," Nina said with a laugh, picking up a bag of chips and coming over to the table. She sat down and put the bag down in front of her.

Minerva reached over and grabbed a chip. "I don't know if I can handle all that excitement for a whole week."

Nina laughed and with a mouthful of chips said, "well, at least you're off school as well so you can deal with it with us."

Minerva gave her a look but before she could respond Lucy ran back into the room and said, "Deal with what?"

"You," Nina replied.

Lucy walked up to the table and gave her a look. "I'm great to deal with," she said, sitting down and pulling the bag of chips towards her. "I'm a good little Indian girl, remember?"

Nina and Minerva laughed. They talked for a little while longer before Minerva had to get going to her meeting with Dumbledore. Lucy and Nina saw her out before going to sit down in the living room to watch some television. They played some board games as they watched and Nina asked Lucy more about her last day of year seven.

"My teacher said that I was a wonderful student," Lucy said.

Nina smiled. "That's great."

"I don't think she was a very wonderful teacher," she replied, making Nina laugh.

"Your teacher probably wouldn't think you're very wonderful if -"

Just then there was a loud bang outside the living room. Nina jumped slightly before standing up from the couch and turning towards the door. Lucy got up too.

"What was -"

Before she could finish three very large and dirty looking men with evil smiles that showed their rotten teeth and wands in their hands came into the living room. Nina gasped and slowly moved back so that she was standing in front of Lucy. Lucy was frozen with fear.

The man at the head of the group pointed his wand up at the two girls. He had long greasy hair, slicked back, and very sharp looking teeth. He had a very bushy short beard that just went around his jawline. He growled, "Don't move!"

They did as they were told. Lucy's heart was pounding in her chest. She was so scared. She looked up at Nina and whispered, "Nina..."

"Take whatever you want," Nina told the men as she moved a little so that she was now covering Lucy from view. Lucy gripped Nina's leg, not sure what was about to happen. "Just please don't hurt us."

Wicked smiles appear on the men's faces. "Shut up," one of them grumbled, walking forward towards them. He walked up to Nina, grabbed one of her arms and pulled roughly.

"Don't!" Lucy yelled and suddenly the man was thrown backwards.

The other two men reacted quickly. One of them pointed his wand at Lucy and yelled, " _Crucio_!"

Lucy suddenly felt immense pain course through her entire body. She fell to the ground and screamed out in pain. Tears filled her eyes and washed down her face. It felt like thousands of white hot needles were boring into every inch of her skin. She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before, not able to hold it in.

Nina quickly fell to her knees beside her and held her as she squirmed around in pain. Nina didn't know what to do. Tears fell down her own face. She just held Lucy close to her and screamed at the men, "stop it! Stop! You're hurting her!"

The man with his wand pointed at Lucy put it down slightly and the pain stopped. Lucy pushed herself up into Nina's arms, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "Get up. Sit there," the man said, pointing to a couch. "Try to use magic again and see what happens."

Nina stood up with Lucy still in her arms and moved to the couch the man was pointing at. She sat down and held Lucy close to her chest. She didn't know what the men wanted or what she could do to get them away from her and Lucy. There was silence for a long time. Nina watched the men walk around the room, touching things, knocking them over or pulling things apart just to look at them.

"So, this is McGonagall's house," one of the men said looking around the living room.

"Are you sure these are her kids?" another asked looking at the man with sharp teeth. "Why would McGonagall care about these dirty brown kids?"

"They're hers," the man replied. "Guess she couldn't find a good white guy."

"Disgusting, really."

Lucy buried her face in Nina's chest and Nina held her tighter. She just wanted these men to go away. "Nina..." Lucy whispered. " _Dar lag raha._ "

" _Mujhe pata, sonu_ ," Nina whispered back. She looked back at the man that had used his magic to hurt Lucy. "What do you want? Maybe I can help you find it."

The man laughed a malicious laugh. "We don't want any of your muggle toys."

"What do you want then?"

The man didn't respond. Nina realized what they were doing. They were waiting for something or someone. "Who are you waiting for?"

"You ask a lot of questions, maybe you should shut up," another man said menacingly.

"Nina, _bus caro_ ," Lucy whispered.

Nina didn't listen. "If you're waiting for Minerva. She's not coming back today."

The man smiled. "We know."

"They're waiting for Daniel," Lucy whispered, realisation hitting her. She sobbed into Nina's chest. "They want all three of us... Nina... what do they want with us?"

"Shh, Lucy, it'll be okay," Nina whispered, stroking Lucy's hair and trying her best to sound calm. She looked around the room. There must be something she could do or something she could use.

"When's this bloody kid gonna get here, Greyback?" one of the men asked, sounding very impatient.

Greyback, the man with the sharp teeth who had hurt Lucy, glared at the other man. "We've only been waiting five minutes, Fenic. Shut the hell up!"

"Ask them," Fenic said, pointing at Lucy and Nina.

Greyback turned to Nina. He walked closer to her, wand out and ready. "When's the other guy coming back?"

"Not for hours."

"How many hours?"

"I don't know. He could be gone for the rest of the day."

The third man, the one Lucy had flung across the room, smirked. "Well, Greyback, if we have time to kill..."

Greyback rolled his eyes. "Do what you want Turk."

Turk smiled evilly and walked right up to the couch. He grabbed Nina's face roughly by the chin and moved it side to side. "You're a pretty one, aren't you?"

Nina's heart rate quickened. She pulled her head back, away from his grasp. He just laughed and grabbed her arm tightly, forcing her up. She pulled back, turning so that Lucy was farther away from him. "Stop, please," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks now.

"Let go of the kid," Turk grumbled, pulling Nina back around and moving his hand up her thigh. Nina moved Lucy so that she could hold her better. "Fine, the kid'll do too."

Turk wrapped his large hands around Lucy's waist and tried to pull her away from Nina. Lucy wrapped her arms around Nina's neck and buried her face in Nina's shoulder so she couldn't see Turk or the other two men. Nina held her tightly.

"Let go, kid! We can have some fun! You'll like it!"

"No!" Lucy yelled, tears streaming down her face. Nina held her tighter.

Turk was getting angry now. He pulled harder, trying to get her away from Nina but the two girls held onto each other tightly. Nina moved back quickly, trying to get as far away this man as possible. Turk waved his wand and Nina was pushed backwards. She hit the wall with a thud and slid to the floor. "Ouf!"

"Turk, just stop," Fenic mumbled. "Watching this is sad."

Turk glared at him. Greyback mumbled something that Nina and Lucy couldn't hear and Turk moved to sulk in a corner.

"Nina, _theek ho_?" Lucy whispered.

" _Main theek hoon, sonu_ ," Nina whispered, putting Lucy down in her lap. She ran her hand over the top of Lucy's head. Her head had been on Nina's shoulder when she had hit the wall. Nina checked for any bumps forming. " _Aap theek hai na_? Is your head okay?"

"I'm okay," Lucy replied. She buried her face in Nina's chest. " _Hum kya karenge_?"

"I don't know, Lucy."

"Daniel will be home soon and Mommy's not coming home to help us," she cried. "What are they going to do with us?"

"I - I don't know, Lucy," Nina whispered again, wrapping her arms around Lucy tightly. She did her best to wipe the tears from her own face but the tears kept coming.

...

"James, hurry up," Sirius said, running through the gate of McGonagall's house. "We're already late."

"Sorry, Sirius," James said, following after him, pulling out his cloak as they went. Sirius walked up to the house and started around the perimeter. He poked his head up to look through the living room window. "Hey, be careful, their car's here. They might see you."

"Oh my god!" Sirius whispered, ducking down quickly. He turned and motioned for James to do the same. "Death Eaters!"

"What!" James raced over to the window. He looked inside and saw Lucy and Nina sitting on the floor holding each other while three men walked around the room. He ducked down, kneeling beside Sirius.

"What do we do?" Sirius asked.

"Okay, okay," James said. "You send a message to McGonagall and tell her to hurry down here and then we'll use the Invisibility Cloak and sneak up on them."

Sirius nodded. He stood up and used his wand to send a silver dog off to Hogwarts. James also got up and covered the both of them with the Cloak. They walked towards the front door that looked like it had been blasted open. It hung on one hinge and had large cracks in the glass.

"Okay, we have to be really quiet," James said as they reached the door. "We'll go to the living room and then I'll stupify one, you stupify another and then we can take on the third one together."

"Sounds good," Sirius said.

They slowly walked through the open door and made their way quietly to the living room. They could hear Nina whispering to Lucy, trying to keep her calm. James pointed his wand at his target and waited for Sirius to point at another. Sirius gave a small nod and in one motion they both pulled the Cloak off of them and yelled, " _Stupefy_!"

The Death Eater that James's had targeted fell to the ground unconscious but Sirius's had been too quick and blocked the attack. Lucy and Nina stared wide eyed at the two men who appeared out of nowhere and were now in a duel with the two standing Death Eaters. Spells were being cast every which way. Nina took the opportunity to pull herself and Lucy behind the couch.

"James! Sirius!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Hey, Lucy. Hey, Nina," James said with a smile as he sent a spell towards Turk. "Alright?"

Nina put Lucy down into a crawling position. "Come on."

Lucy followed as Nina crawled across the room from behind the couch while the wizards kept fighting. Nina put an arm out to stop Lucy as a blast of green light shot in front of them.

"James," Sirius muttered as he blocked another spell from Greyback. "We've got to get the girls out of here."

"I know," James said, sending a stunning charm towards Turk. Turk blocked it and sent a green light back at him.

"Nina, if we run -"

"No," Nina said. "It's too dangerous. Sirius, can you -"

Suddenly a silver light filled the room. It hit Greyback and then Turk. They toppled to the ground unconscious. Albus Dumbledore walked into the living room followed closely behind by Minerva. She raced quickly to Nina and Lucy and pulled them into a hug.

"Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Nina whispered. Her heart was still racing and tears were still pouring from her eyes. "I - I think so."

"Mommy," Lucy whispered through her own tears.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here now," Minerva said, pulling her daughter and Nina closer to her.

"What the hell happened?" Daniel said, entering the living room. He had seen the front door wide open and had run up from the driveway to make sure everyone was alright. He looked at three men lying unconscious on the floor to the other three men standing over them and then over to where his family was sitting on the ground behind the couch. Lucy pulled away from her mother and ran over to Daniel. He leaned down and hugged her, picking her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck and buried her face in his shoulder, tears still streaming from her eyes. Daniel rubbed circles on her back. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

Nina stood up and walked over to Daniel as well. He held onto Lucy with one arm and hugged Nina with the other. Minerva watched them for a second before getting up herself and looking over at Dumbledore, Sirius and James.

"Where were you two?" she asked angrily, walking over to the two boys.

James looked up at his Professor sadly. "I'm sorry, Professor. We were running late today. We're really sorry."

Minerva glared at them. Dumbledore shook his head. "What's done is done. James, Sirius, you did well," he said. "It was a good thing you thought to contact us first. You may go now."

"Wait," Nina said, turning around in Daniel's arm so she could look at them. "What happened? Where did these guys come from? What did they want with us?"

Dumbledore looked at the three children, huddled together and motioned for them to sit down on the couch. Nina shook her head, still hugging Daniel tightly. Lucy was still crying on his shoulder.

"These three were Death Eaters," he said. "They came after you to get to Minerva."

"Death Eaters..." Lucy whispered, looking over at the men, still lying on the floor. Daniel reached out a hand and gently guided Lucy's head away from the men and back down into his shoulder. He rested his hand on the back of her head for a little while before putting it back around Nina. Minerva sighed. She hadn't wanted Lucy to find out about the war. She hadn't wanted her to be scared like this.

"We were worried that something like this may happen," Dumbledore continued. "Which is why James and Sirius were assigned to watch over the three of you."

"So they know about us now?" Daniel said. "It's not safe here anymore?"

Dumbledore looked over at Minerva and then back to Daniel. "I fear it may not be."

"Where will we go?" Nina asked quietly, moving closer to Daniel. She turned to look at him. "My flat at the university?"

"There are a couple options you have," Dumbledore said. He looked at James and Sirius. "We should get these three away from here and leave the others to plan their next move."

James and Sirius nodded. They pulled out their wands and lifted the men from the room. They said their goodbyes and left everyone still standing in the living room. When they were gone, Minerva walked over to Daniel and held out her arms for Lucy. Daniel handed her over and then hugged Nina properly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her.

Nina nodded. She held him tightly. "I'm okay."

"Mum," Lucy whispered, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.

"Yes, love?" Minerva asked.

"What does Death Eater mean?"

"They're bad people, Lucy," Minerva replied. "But they're gone now. You don't have to worry."

"What do we do now?" Daniel asked.

Minerva thought for a second, she looked at the scared faces of Nina and Lucy looking up at her. "I think we may need to leave Rochester for a while."

"Where are we going to go? And for how long? All three of us have school in two months," Nina said, starting to sound frantic. "This is our home! How long will we have to stay away?"

"I know," Minerva said with a sigh. "I don't know how long we will need to stay away but it's too dangerous for us to stay here now."

Daniel sighed. "Alright, well we can figure out the school thing when we get there," he said, placing a hand on the Nina's arm. "Where are we going to go?"

Before Minerva could answer another voice called from the front door making Lucy and Nina both jump.

"Minerva?" Amelia's worried voice called.

"We're here, Amelia," Minerva said. "In the living room. We're all okay."

Amelia came in and looked them all over. "Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed, coming up to Daniel and Nina first. "Dumbledore told me what happened and I came down as fast as I could. Are you alright, my dear?"

She pulled Nina into a hug and Nina hugged her back. She nodded into Amelia's shoulder and Amelia rubbed her back soothingly. When they pulled away Amelia hugged Daniel too and then walked Minerva and Lucy.

"How - how could this happen?" she asked as she took Lucy from Minerva's arms.

"I don't know," Minerva said quietly. She felt tears in her own eyes and did her best to push them back. She shook her head. "I don't know how they managed to find our house. There were so many protections on it."

"Aunty Amelia," Lucy whispered. "Our house isn't safe anymore."

"It'll be okay, my love," Amelia whispered, rubbing Lucy's back. She looked from Daniel and Nina to Minerva. "What are you going to do now?"

"I was thinking we could stay at Hogwarts," Minerva said, reaching up and running her fingers through Lucy's hair. "I have rooms there and a lot of other families are staying there too. It most likely the safest place in the United Kingdom right now."

"We will need to leave soon, won't we?" Nina said.

Minerva nodded. "We should leave as soon as possible. We cannot be sure that more Death Eaters aren't coming."

"More..." Lucy whispered as she gripped Amelia tighter, making Minerva regret saying that. Amelia rubbed small circles on her back and whispered in her ear to calm her down a little.

"Okay," Daniel said. "Why don't we pack and we can leave today. I don't think we will be able to get any sleep in this house tonight." Everyone agreed and Daniel gave a small nod. He looked over at Nina. "You should also call anyone you need to and let them know that we won't be in town for the rest of the summer."

Nina nodded. "Lucy, you'll probably want to call Anne as well, right?"

Lucy nodded. Nina held out her hand out for Lucy to take and Amelia put her down. Lucy walked over and took Nina's hand. They walked out of the room towards the kitchen where the phone was. Daniel took a deep breath and gave his stepmother a small smile. "We'll be okay."

Minerva closed her eyes and gave a small nod. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not."

"Maybe if I had stayed away at least until the war ended this wouldn't have happened."

"What if you hadn't come back and they found out anyway?" Daniel said. "Then James and Sirius wouldn't have been here to help and who knows what would have happened."

"I guess you're right," Minerva mumbled.

"We need you here. No matter what happened, we're glad you're back," Daniel said. Minerva gave him a small smile. "Lucy will be done on the phone soon and then you should help her pack. I'm going to go pack my own things."

Minerva nodded. She watched him walk out of the room before looking at Amelia. Amelia gave her a small smile. "It'll be okay," she said. "Hogwarts is safe. They'll be safe there."

Minerva nodded a little. The tears in her eyes finally fell down on her cheeks. She did her best to wipe them away but it wasn't working. Amelia pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay," she whispered. "Everyone's safe. It's okay."

"It was so close, Amelia," Minerva whispered. "If... if something happened to either of them... I - I don't know what I'd do."

"It's okay. Nothing happened," Amelia said. "They're both safe and we're going to make sure it stays that way. Lucy and Nina will love Hogwarts. Lucy hasn't been there in a while. I'm sure she'll love exploring the castle again."

Minerva nodded. "There - there are children her age she can play with," she said. "She - she can make friends."

"Yes! Exactly," Amelia said with a smile, pulling away a little. "This will be good for them. They'll like it there."

Minerva nodded again and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay, I'm done being ridiculous. Let's get to work."

"You weren't being ridiculous. It's okay to cry sometimes, Minerva," Amelia said. "Now, why don't I go upstairs and help Daniel pack his and Nina's things. Then I'll do your room and you just worry about Lucy's room."

"Thank you," Minerva said with a nod. "Thank you, Amelia."

"Of course," she said with a smile.

They walked out of the living room and Amelia headed up the stairs while Minerva went into the kitchen. Nina was talking on the phone while Lucy sat at the kitchen island with her head down on her arms. Minerva walked over to Lucy and put a hand on Lucy's back. Lucy flinched and looked up quickly but relaxed when she saw it was just her mother. Minerva frowned and pulled away but Lucy reached out for her. Minerva hugged her.

"Have you talked to Anne already, darling?" she asked quietly.

Lucy nodded.

"Alright, why don't you come upstairs with me and I'll help you pack your things," Minerva said.

Lucy nodded again, slid off the stool and took her mother's hand. They walked up the stairs and into Lucy's bedroom. Lucy sat down on the bed and pulled her knees into her chest. Minerva picked up the backpack that Isobel had given Lucy for Christmas. She walked over to Lucy's bed and sat down, pulling Lucy close to her.

"Here, you can put your things in here. It should fit everything," Minerva said.

Lucy leaned into her mother's chest. "He tried to touch Nina," she whispered.

Minerva closed her eyes. "She's okay. They're gone now. Nothing happened."

"They hurt me," she whispered. "With magic, I think."

"Oh, darling," Minerva whispered. She wrapped her arms around Lucy.

"It hurt so bad. I've never felt like that before."

"I know, love, I know."

"Why would they do that?"

"I honestly don't know, Lucy. I'm sorry but I don't have a good answer for you. I wish I knew," Minerva replied honestly, not wanting to lie to her daughter.

"Now we have to leave home because of them. I don't want to leave home," Lucy mumbled.

"Oh but I'm sure you'll love Hogwarts," Minerva said with a small smile. "It's a huge castle."

"But I wanted to spend the summer with Anne," Lucy mumbled. "Will we be back when school starts again?"

"I don't know, Lucy. Hopefully," Minerva whispered. She pulled her wand out and Lucy looked up at it. She watched as Minerva flicked her wand and clothes flew out of the closest and folded themselves. The clothes drifted into the open bag that Minerva was holding. "What else do you need?"

Lucy shrugged. She moved to lie down in the bed, burying her face in the pillow. Minerva frown. She flicked her wand again, shoes, toiletries and other things Lucy may need flew into the bag as well. She put the bag down and moved over to where Lucy was lying.

"Lucy, please. We have to go," Minerva said.

"I'm packed and ready," Lucy mumbled.

Minerva rolled her eyes but smiled. She stood up. "Alright, your bag is over there if you have other things you want to take. I'm going to go see how Daniel and Amelia are doing."

Lucy looked up quickly. "Wait!"

Minerva raised an eyebrow at her. Lucy got out of bed and grabbed her bag. She looked around the room quickly. She ran around the room, grabbing things and stuffing them in the bag. When she was done she closed the bag, threw it over her shoulder and walked back over to her mother. She grabbed her mother's hand. "Okay, let's go."

Minerva gave her a small smile. She could tell that Lucy didn't want to be left alone right now. They walked to Daniel and Nina's bedroom where Nina was sitting on the bed and Daniel was zipping up his last suitcase. Amelia flicked her wand and that suitcase, along with the rest containing Daniel and Nina's things, flew out of the room and down the stairs to be with the others she had packed in Minerva's room. Lucy let go of Minerva's hand and climbed onto the bed into Nina's lap. Nina hugged her close.

"Ready to go, love?" she asked Lucy.

"Yes," Lucy replied with a nod. She pointed back at her backpack. "Mum helped me pack."

"That's good," Nina said with a smile.

"Okay," Daniel said, straightening up. He looked over at Minerva and Amelia. "Why don't we go downstairs and give them a minute?"

Minerva nodded. She took Lucy's backpack from her and she and Amelia followed Daniel from the room. Lucy turned so that she could look up at Nina. She hugged Nina's chest and rested her head on her. Nina gave her a small smile and a little squeeze.

"We'll be okay, Lucy," she whispered. "I know today was scary but we'll be okay."

"Nina we're going to a school for more magical people," Lucy replied. "What if -"

"They won't be like these ones," Nina interrupted quickly. "We wouldn't be going if they were."

Lucy nodded slightly. "Nina... I'm still so scared."

"I know, sweetheart, I am too," she replied. "But in time I think we'll both be okay. Now come on, let's not keep everyone waiting too long."

"Okay," Lucy said.

Lucy and Nina walked down the stairs. Lucy saw the front door was closed now but the glass was broken and anyone could just walk through it. She stuck close to Nina as they walked by the door. The sun was setting outside now. Lucy hadn't even realized it had gotten this late. She heard her stomach growl and realized it was past dinner time now. Nina told her that they would probably eat at Hogwarts.

They made it to the living room where everyone was waiting for them. The living room was still a mess. Things were broken and knocked over, furniture was pushed around, the television was smashed. Their bags sat by the door and Daniel, Amelia, and Minerva were sitting in some chairs. Lucy let go of Nina's hand and walked over to Minerva. Minerva smiled a small smile at her and wrapped her arms around Lucy's waist.

"Portkey is ready," she said as Nina walked over as well and sat down on the arm of Daniel's chair. Daniel put an arm around her. "Leaves in about fifteen minutes so we have some -"

"What the hell?!" a voice exclaimed from the entrance, cutting Minerva off. They heard the sounds of glass breaking as the front door opened. "Daniel? Lucy? Nina? Are you okay?"

Minerva looked over at Daniel quickly. "I completely forgot that Raj was coming back today!"

"I did too," he said. He looked over at the door and called loudly, "we're fine, Uncle Raj. We're in the living room."

Raj walked into the living room and looked around with wide eyes. "What the hell happened?!"

Lucy pulled away from Minerva and ran over to him. He dropped his briefcase and picked her up. "Uncle Raj!" she cried. "Bad people came to our house."

Raj looked around at them with a horrified expression on his face. "There was a break in?"

Minerva stood up and nodded. "Yes," she said. "Thankfully everyone is fine, nothing was stolen and the perpetrators have been arrested." She motioned to the bags by the door. "However, we have decided to leave the house for a little while."

Raj nodded as he walked over. "That's understandable," he said. "Have you already made hotel arrangements or shall I? Were you all here when they broke in?"

"Nina and I were," Lucy whispered.

"Oh god," Raj said, reaching up and putting a hand on Lucy's head. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

Lucy nodded. Raj put a hand on Nina's shoulder and she stood up and hugged him too. He wrapped an arm around her her and rubbed her arm.

"I can be packed in five minutes," he said, holding both girls. "Where are we going?"

"Actually... we're going away for the rest of the summer, Raj. Maybe longer," Minerva said a little awkwardly. "It's no longer safe here for us. We need to leave and I don't know when exactly we'll be able to see each other again."

"What?" Raj asked with a frown. He didn't understand what Minerva was saying right now. "See each other?"

"We won't be able to contact you where we're going," Minerva said.

"Wait... no," he said, shaking his head and holding Lucy and Nina tightly. "No. Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

Lucy's eyes widened. She looked over at Daniel who was standing now too. Nina pulled away a little and looked up at Raj, a little frightened. Amelia also stood up and whispered something to Minerva. Minerva should just tell him everything.

"Raj, I -"

"No. No," he said, letting go of Nina so she could go back to Daniel. He kept Lucy in his arms though. "No. You were gone for two fucking years and now you come back and you tell me that I can't see these children anymore? Who do you think has been here while you were gone? Who do you think was raising them because it sure as hell wasn't you or Amelia! I've been here looking after them for the past two years and you don't get to just take them away from me! How fucking dare you!"

"Raj, please calm down," Minerva said. She knew that he still hadn't forgive her but she hadn't expected this. "That is not what this is. Please just listen to me. It's safer this way."

"Safer? That is absolute bull-"

"Okay," Daniel said suddenly. "This is ridiculously. Amelia is right, we need to tell him the truth. This has gone on long enough. Uncle Raj, what happened today wasn't just a break in. It was a kidnapping attempt. These men, they were part of this group called the Death Eaters. They are a group wizards who believe that they are better than other wizards and witches and non-magical people. There's a whole secret world full of magical people and it's at war right now because of the Death Eaters. Min, Amelia and Lucy can all do magic. Min and Amelia are part of this group called the Order of the Phoenix that fight against the Death Eaters. Which is why they came here today. They came to try to get us to get to her."

Raj stared at him for a long time. "Magic..."

Daniel nodded.

Raj looked from Minerva to Amelia and then to Lucy. "You can do magic?"

Lucy nodded. She lifted up her hands and held them together. Suddenly a small flame ignited in her palms and danced around. It got a little bigger and Raj could feel the heat on his face. He reached up and put a hand near the flame. It was real. It was real and it was in her hands without burning them.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she whispered, closing her hands and making the fire disappear. "I wasn't allowed to tell anybody."

Raj looked back at Daniel. "You knew. This whole time?"

Daniel nodded. "That's the reason Min left for so long. The war got really bad and she thought it would be safer so something like this -" he motioned around the living room - "wouldn't happen."

"It's why you went up to Castletown back in October," Raj whispered, realization hitting him. If Isobel had been home, she could have used magic to save Jay.

Daniel nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. He didn't like talking about that trip. It was one of his lowest moments.

"We're going to Hogwarts," Minerva said finally. "It's the school for magic that I teach at. It's become a home for many refugees displaced by the war and is probably the safest place in the whole United Kingdom right now. We could stay, keep moving around from hotel to hotel, but I think that this will be safer."

"Did he know?" Raj asked, staring at Minerva. "Did Jay know?"

"He did," Minerva said with a nod.

Raj stared at her and then at Amelia. He shook his head and Amelia saw the hurt on his face. "Ten years," he mumbled. "We've known each other ten years and never once was I informed."

"Raj, we -" Amelia started but he cut her off.

"And now you have to take them away," he said. He looked at Lucy and gave her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down on the floor. He kneeled down in front of her and held her arms. He gave her a little smile. "Hogwarts is safe?"

She nodded. "Everyone says so."

Raj sighed. "The rest of the summer, maybe longer," he mumbled. He shook his head and made himself smile again. He had to be strong. Strong for her. "I love you, Lucy, and I want you to know that you and Daniel helped me just as much as I helped you."

"No," Lucy said, tears filling her eyes. This felt like a goodbye and she didn't like it. She didn't want to say goodbye forever. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck quickly. "No! I don't want to leave Uncle Raj!"

"Lucy, I -"

"No, we're not going to leave him," Daniel said. He looked at Minerva. "Not contacting him is ridiculous. We can send letters, maybe come down for a visit every so often. I don't want to cut off contact with Uncle Raj either."

"I can bring him up to Hogwarts for visits," Amelia said. "There are a lot of other Muggles staying there too. I don't think anyone will mind."

"Lucy and Daniel need him," Nina said quietly. She looked over at Raj and gave him a small smile. "And I need him too."

Raj smiled back at her. "I need you all too."

Minerva nodded. "You're right. Cutting off contact is ridiculous," she said. She did not want to make the same mistake twice. "We will send letters. They are sent through the Owl Post. Meaning tied to the leg of an owl. They will be sent to your office at the Collins Enterprises building only. Owls can be tracked and it won't seem out of the ordinary for us to be sending letters to our own company. I don't want anyone to track you down to your apartment, Raj. If they think you're close to us you'll be in a lot of danger too."

Raj stood up with Lucy in his arms again and nodded. He smiled and looked down at Lucy. "Owls, huh?"

Lucy smiled a little and nodded, still hugging him tightly.

"Amelia will bring you by for visits. We will arrange them at a later date," Minerva said. She looked down at her watch. "Our Portkey leaves in one minute. Raj, I would suggest you pack up your things and head home. It's not safe for you to stay here either."

"I'll stay behind and help him pack as well as fix up the house," Amelia said. "You four go on ahead."

Minerva nodded and picked up the folded up newspaper on the coffee table.

"Uncle Raj, why can't you just come with us now?" Lucy asked.

"I think it's best you just go with the others," Raj said, putting her down again. "But I'll see you soon, Kitten."

"See you soon, Uncle Raj," Lucy whispered before walking over to Minerva.

"Goodbye, Daniel, Nina, Minerva," Raj said with a little smile. "I'll see you all soon."

They said goodbye and grabbed onto the newspaper as well. Minerva pulled out her wand and flicked it. The bags by the door shrunk in size and flew over to her. Raj watched them with wide eyes. She grabbed them out of the air and stuffed them in her pocket before picking Lucy up so she could grab the newspaper too.

They stood there for a moment without anything happening and then suddenly Raj blinked and they were gone. It was now only him and Amelia left in the living room.

"Wow," he said quietly.

Amelia smiled. "Portkey," she said. "It's a magic object that takes you from one place to another in a matter of seconds."

"So... a war?" Raj said.

Amelia sighed and nodded. "It's been going on since '93," she said. "The leader of the Death Eaters was the one that killed my parents and grandparents. Then last month my brother and his family."

"I'm very sorry."

"You don't have to be," she mumbled. She pulled out her wand and looked around the room. "I'll fix this and the door first and then we can go up and pack your things."

He nodded as he watched her flick her wand. Suddenly things around the room began to move. Furniture went back in their rightful places, broken things mended themselves, and knocked over things turned upright.

"Magic," Raj mumbled. "Wizards and witches. War. That's a lot of things to process all in one day."

"It is," she said. "I'm really sorry we didn't tell you earlier. I wanted to back when you asked me the real reason I never came back but... I didn't and that was very unfair to you."

"What's done is done," he said quietly, moving over and picking up his suitcase. "Nothing to be done about it now but move on. Tell me about the war. It must have been horrible if it made Minerva leave her family for two whole years."

Amelia sighed and nodded. "It was," she said as she began walking towards the front to fix the front door. She told him all about it. Everything thing that happened, every attack, everyone who had been murdered. She told him more about the Order, about Hogwarts, and just the Wizarding World in general. She told him about her work with the Ministry of Magic and about Muggles and Muggleborns. The prejudices that the Death Eaters held against them and what they wanted exactly. As they went up to his bedroom to pack his things, she told him about the giants and the werewolves. She also told him about how unique Lucy's magic was. How she didn't need a wand and how she was quite advanced for her age. Raj had just learned about magic and this new world but he was already proud of Lucy for being a great witch.

"I'll come by later this week to help you figure out the Owl Post," Amelia said when they were done and Raj was about to leave. "You do have windows that can open in your office, right?"

"Yes, I do," he said. "It's pretty high up so I'm not too worried about people seeing an owl fly over to it. Though, I will say, owls seem like a strangely non-magical way to deliver mail. I expected more from your Wizarding Community."

Amelia smiled. "Owls are very magical creatures, Raj," she said. "They can find almost anyone anywhere around the world and they deliver mail very efficiently. A lot faster than your... what do you call it? Oh, yes, snail mail."

Raj laughed. "We don't actually use snails, you know."

"I've sent letters through the Muggle Post before," she said. "I know how it works and I know that owls are faster."

"Alright," Raj said with a smile. "Well, we should probably get out of here. How you leaving? Portkey too?"

"No, I'll be Apparating. That's when you disappear in one place and reappear in another. It's like using a Portkey but you don't need an object to do it and you can only do yourself and two others."

"I see."

"I can Apparate you home, if you'd like," she said. "It's a lot faster than driving."

"That's alright," he said as he opened the now fixed front door and walked out. She followed after him and he closed and locked the door behind her. "I'll need my car tomorrow to get to work. I don't want to take the tube."

Amelia smiled. "God forbid you travel like a peasant!"

"That's not what I said," he said with a laugh, walking down to his car.

"Well, I'll see you soon, Raj," she said with a smile. "I'll have to walk out the gate to be able to Apparate. There are spells on the house to stop people from Apparating directly onto or off of the property."

"Oh, well, hop in," he said. "I'll give you a ride. It'll save you like ten minutes."

She laughed. "I'm not that lazy."

"Just get in, Bones," he said with a smile as he opened the passenger side door for her.

Amelia smiled and shook her head but got into the car anyways. He closed the door behind her and walked around to the other side. He got into the driver's side and drove them to the gates. When they got out on the other side, Amelia decided just to keep him company on the rest of the drive back to London. She could Apparate from anywhere after all. He was happy to have her company and insisted on buying some food for their drive as it was past dinner time by now and they were both starving.

"I don't want to go to some fancy restaurant, Raj," Amelia said. "I'm not that hungry it's fine."

"Fancy restaurant?" he said with a laugh. "No, Amelia, we're getting fast food. I think I've earned it today."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he pulled into the drive-thru of some restaurant with large golden arches on the front of it. She had never been through a drive-thru before and found it very fascinating. They got their burgers, fries and drinks in record time and were on the highway towards London before Amelia even knew it. She was quite impressed by this feat of Muggle ingenuity.

...

Lucy, Nina, Daniel and Minerva appeared on the outskirts of the Hogwarts grounds. Minerva put Lucy down and took her hand as she led them up the steeps slopes towards the castle gate. Standing in front of the tall, black iron gates were two men. One younger, with brown hair, a mousy face, and a thick coat on that made him look a little marshmallow like. He was quite skittish looking, turning his head left and right quickly as if making sure nothing snuck up on him. The other was a wide, muscular man with dirty blonde hair and a glass eye that swivelled around looking every which way and a lot of scars on his face. He also had a metal leg, poking out of the end of his trousers.

"Good evening, Minerva," the man with the strange eye said as they walked up.

"Alastor, Peter," Minerva greeted. Lucy stared at the man called Alastor and moved closer to her mother. Minerva looked down at her and gave her a small smile.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Peter said. "We heard the Death Eaters found your safe house. I'm glad you're all okay."

"Thank you, Peter," Minerva said with a sigh. "It was a close call but fortunately James and Sirius got there before anything could happen."

"They're good boys," Alastor muttered. "Shouldn't've been late for their post however. We get no breaks anymore. Constant Vigilance." He looked down at Lucy who was half behind her mother's legs now, gripping her trousers tightly with her free hand. Moody gave her a small gruff smile. "Ah, little Miss Lucy Collins. It's been a while."

Minerva tugged Lucy out from behind her. "This is Alastor Moody and Peter Pettigrew," she said. She looked back at Daniel. "You remember Mr. Moody, don't you, love?"

Daniel smiled and nodded, walking closer and shaking Moody's hand. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Moody," he said. "It been quite a while."

"It has," Moody said. "Yeh've definitely grown, Daniel. Taller than me now. Yeh look a lot like yer father."

Daniel smiled. "Thank you," he said. He looked over at Nina. "This is my girlfriend, Nina. Nina, Mr. Moody is a friend of Min's from when she worked at the Ministry."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Nina said with a smile, shaking his hand as well.

"It's nice to meet yeh as well, Nina," he said. "Hope this one's treating yeh righ'. Yeh let me know if ever he annoys yeh too much."

Nina laughed. "I doubt it'll be a problem," she said, "but thank you very much for your concern."

"I doubt the little one remembers me," Moody said, looking back down at Lucy. His other eye whizzed around every which way as he stared down at her.

"I don't think she remembers me either," Peter said with a smile.

"Well, she was quite young when she met you both," Minerva said with a smile. She looked down at Lucy and frowned. Lucy was being quite rude.

Minerva gave her a look and Lucy got the message. As Daniel and Nina greeted Peter, Lucy looked up at Moody hesitantly before sticking out her hand towards him and, very politely, saying, "hello, Mr. Moody. I'm sorry for not remembering you."

Moody chuckled a little as he shook her little hand with his massive one. "That's alrigh'," he said. "I jus' hope I didn't scare you too much."

Lucy shook her head and he laughed again. Lucy moved over and stuck her hand out towards Peter as well. "Hello, Mr. Pettigrew. I'm sorry for not remembering you either."

"Hello, Lucy. You can just call me Peter," Peter said with a little smile. "It's alright. You were very little when we met. Got my friends and I in a lot of trouble, you did."

Daniel laughed. "Sounds like Lucy."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said uncertainly.

"That's alright," Peter said with a smile.

"So, I assume Albus told you we would be coming," Minerva said, looking back at Moody as Lucy moved back over to her and took her hand again.

Moody nodded. "We still gotta check yer bags," he replied. "'S'just protocol."

Minerva nodded. She flicked her wand and all of their bags flew over to the two wizards, going back to regular size again. Lucy watched as the two men wave their wands around the bags for a while before giving a nod. They waved their wands one last time and the bags disappeared. "Bags are clear, as expected," Moody said. "Yeh may go."

"Have fun at the castle," Peter said.

"Thank you," Minerva said. She led the group through the gates and up towards the castle.

When they were far enough away, Daniel moved closer and whispered, "Moody's really… changed."

Minerva sighed and nodded. "I know," she whispered. "I forgot that you hadn't seen him with his fake eye and leg. It's been a long time since he acquired those."

"Is he okay?" Nina asked.

"Oh, he's fine," Minerva said. "Not so fond of the leg, needs a cane to walk now but he's getting more used to it the more he uses it. He loves his new eye though. Claims to like it a lot better than his old one. It's magical so he can see through anything, even the back of his own head. He can see how many Death Eaters are inside a building without going inside first. I've heard him joke that he should have replaced one of his eyes with this one years ago."

"That's good at least, I suppose," Nina said, looking back towards the gate and moving a little closer to Daniel. Daniel gave her hand a little squeeze.

"What – what happened to his leg and eye?" Lucy asked, looking up at her mother with a frightened look on her face.

"Um, I'm not sure actually," Minerva replied. She knew that Alastor Moody had lost his leg and eye fighting against Death Eaters but she wasn't about to tell Lucy that.

They walked to the huge stone castle. It was dark out now but light shone through the windows of the castle giving it a warm glow. There were green vines climbing up parts of the stone walls and the towers were so tall.

"Wow," Nina said. "The castle is beautiful."

"And you were worried," Daniel said, giving Lucy a little nudge.

Lucy smiled a little back at her brother. They walked into the castle and Lucy looked around every which way, not wanting to miss a thing. The halls were empty but there was still chatter amongst the paintings that moved around and talked to each other. Lucy watched them laugh and joke and wave at her. She waved back as they called their greetings. They welcomed Lucy, Daniel, and Nina to Hogwarts.

"It's quite late. Everyone is probably in their rooms by now," Minerva said.

As they walked, Minerva pointed out some important doors as they passed them. The doors to the Great Hall, the staffroom, doors down to the dungeon. They walked up staircases that moved and everything was lit up by floating torches or candles. Finally they made it to their desired destination. Minerva opened a door and said, "This is my office."

The office was a good size. There was one wooden desk with two chairs in front and one larger, more comfortable looking chair behind it. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with large books. A fireplace stood directly across from the desk. Minerva walked around the desk to the torch on the wall. She grabbed it and pulled it down. This caused the stone wall beside it to fold in on itself and reveal a room. "This is my private quarters. Where we'll be staying."

"Cool! A hidden door!" Lucy exclaimed, following her mother into the private rooms excitedly making Minerva smile. Daniel and Nina smiled and followed as well.

The hidden door opened into a sitting room that was decorated in a red and gold theme. Around a wooden coffee table was a large maroon couch, two matching armchairs and a loveseat. In another corner of the room was a huge black grand piano. A beautiful gold chandelier illuminated the room. The sitting room flowed into a hallway that had three other doors in it.

"This is the sitting room, over there is my bedroom, that one will be your bedroom -" she looked at Daniel and Nina. "Your bags should already be in there. That one is the toilet," Minerva said, pointing out each door. "There are only two bedrooms so, Lucy, you can share a room with me, if that's alright."

Lucy nodded. She was actually glad to be sharing a room with her mother. After everything that happened today she didn't want to be alone.

"Why don't you all sit down and I'll have a House Elf bring us some dinner," Minerva said.

They did as they were told and Minerva called a House Elf named Dotty to bring them food. The food appeared on the coffee table a few moments later and Minerva sat down to eat with everyone else as well. They didn't talk very much while they ate, everyone was too hungry and still a little shaken up over what happened.

After dinner they decided to get ready for bed. It was quite late now, way past Lucy's bedtime.

"But I wanted to explore," Lucy whined, not wanting to go to bed yet.

Minerva smiled. "You can explore tomorrow. There are a lot of children your age here. You can meet them as well tomorrow," she said as she took Lucy's hand. "Come now. Nina is right. It's bedtime."

Lucy frowned. She looked over at Nina and Daniel. Daniel gave her a smile. He walked over and tousled her hair. "Goodnight, kid."

"Night, Daniel," Lucy said. She let's go of Minerva's hand and walked over to Nina. Nina kneeled down and gave her a hug. "Night, Nina."

"Goodnight, Lucy."

She got up, they said goodnight to Minerva and she and Daniel walk into their bedroom. Lucy walked back to Minerva and took her hand. Minerva led them to her bedroom. The room was a decent size. It followed the same red and gold theme that ran throughout the sitting room. There was a four-poster bed with maroon covers in the middle of the room. On either side of the bed were small wooden side tables. On the farthest wall from the door was a half hexagonal bay window. The large windows overlooking the courtyard. On the yard was a small hut. Beyond that was a very thick forest. There was also a dresser with a large mirror on top of it. The closet in the room was on the smaller size but Lucy could make do. Lucy's bag sat on the bed.

"Do you like the room?" Minerva asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, it's nice," she said, pulling herself up onto the bed. "I feel like... like it's familiar."

"Well, you and Daniel have both been here before," Minerva said with a smile as she pulled out her wand to unpack their bags. Things flew out of them and placed themselves in their rightful places around the room. Lucy smiled as she watched them. Lucy's pajamas float over to her and she grabbed them out of the air. She got up off the bed and changed her clothes. Minerva put Lucy's bag away and grabbed her own clothes. She excused herself to go to the bathroom to change. When she returned, she got into the bed beside Lucy. Minerva tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Mum."

Minerva flicked her wand and the lights around the room go off. She then set her wand down on her bedside table and snuggled closer into the blankets. Lucy had been very tired. She had an exhausting day. It had been both emotionally and physically draining. She fell asleep quite quickly. Minerva listened to her rhythmic breathing and looked over at her with a smile. She looked so small lying in bed beside her. Minerva fell asleep not long after that.

...

Minerva was woken by stirring on Lucy's side of the bed. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and looked over at her daughter. Her breathing had quickened and was no longer consistent. Her body was shaking and she mumbled in her sleep. "No... don't hurt us... please."

Minerva sat up a bit and reached out a hand. She touched Lucy's arm but before she could say anything, Lucy suddenly woke up and pushed her away. "Don't touch me!"

"Lucy?" Minerva whispered.

Lucy looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was. Tears filled her eyes. "Mommy..."

"Lucy, I'm right here, darling," Minerva said, pulling her close to her. "It's okay. It was just a bad dream."

"I'm sorry, I thought you were..." Lucy sobbed into her mother's chest.

"It's okay, darling," Minerva said, rubbing small circles on her back. "It's okay."

"I had a dream about the Death Eaters," Lucy whispered.

"I know but it's okay. You're safe at Hogwarts," Minerva whispered. "Nothing can happen to you here."

"But what if they come here?"

"They won't."

"How do you know?"

"I know they won't come here because they're scared," Minerva said with a smile.

"Scared?" Lucy asked, confused. "Why are they scared?"

"They're scared of your Uncle Albus," Minerva replied. "He's the only one they're scared of. You saw how easy it was for him to take out those Death Eaters. Albus is probably the strongest and most powerful wizard out there so as long as he's here the Death Eaters wouldn't dare come here."

Lucy thought about this for a second and then smiled. "They're scared of Uncle Albus? That's funny. He's so nice."

"He's only nice to nice people. He doesn't like bad people like Death Eaters," Minerva said with a smile.

"Uncle Albus is staying here?"

"Yes, he's been here for a really really long time and he's not going anywhere any time soon. That's why Hogwarts is so safe," she replied. "That's why people come here. It's the safest place in the whole world because of your Uncle Albus."

"Uncle Albus is the best," Lucy said with a smile.

"He is," Minerva said with a smile as well. "He would never let anything happen to this school."


	14. TLT -- 14

_**Friday, June 26th 1998**_

Minerva dropped Daniel, Nina, and Lucy off at Classroom 3C. It was the classroom now being used as a daycare. There were a lot of families in here already. Daniel and Nina introduced themselves to some of the parents before finding Remus, Dorcas, James and Lily sitting off to the side. Daniel told Lucy to behave nicely with the other children before pointing out where he and Nina would be in case she needed them. Lucy nodded and watched them walk away for a minute before looking over at the children that were playing around her. She had never been really good at making friends. She didn't really know how. She was shy and had a hard time just walking up and talking to people. Instead she walked over to where a deck of cards sat on the floor and picked them up. She sat down and started flipping cards over and finding pairs to occupy herself.

"Whatcha doing?"

Lucy looked up to see a little girl around her age looking down at her. This girl had big brown eyes and short pink hair! Lucy smiled and said, "Nothing."

"What's your name?" the girl asked, sitting down in front of Lucy.

"I'm Lucy," she replied. "What's your name?"

"Well my name is Nymphadora Tonks actually but I don't like the name Nymphadora," she said with a sigh. "I just tell everyone to call me Tonks"

"It's nice to meet you, Tonks," Lucy said with a smile.

"You too," Tonks said with a smile. "So, Lucy, do you wanna play a game?"

"Sure!" Lucy said. "I really like your hair by the way."

The girl smiled. "Thanks! Watch this!"

Lucy watched as the girl made her hair change all sorts of different bright and neon colours. Lucy's eyes widened. "Wow! That's so cool! How do you do that?"

"I'm a Metamorphmagus. That means I can change what I look like into whatever I want to without having to use magic," Tonks explained.

"That's really cool. My mum's an Animagus so she can only change into a cat," Lucy said. "How do you become a Metamorphmagus? Is it a long, complex process like becoming an Animagus?"

"No," Tonks said with a smile. "You have to be born a Metamorphmagus. No one really knows how. My parents aren't Metamorphmagus. It's supposed to be very rare."

"Wow," Lucy said. "I wish I was a Metamorphmagus."

Tonks smiled. "So, is your family here too?"

"Yeah, my brother and his girlfriend are over there," Lucy said, pointing at Daniel and Nina on the other side of the room. "And I don't know where my mum went. I think she said that she had to go to a meeting with Professor Dumbledore."

"Oh, cool," Tonks said. "My mum's over there and my dad is out playing quidditch. Mum doesn't really like the game."

"Oh," Lucy said. She didn't really know what quidditch was.

"How old are you Lucy?"

"I'm six but I'll be seven in August," she replied. "How old are you?"

"I'm seven," Tonks said with a smile. "Oh, hey, do you want to meet my other friends Charlie and Bill? They're over there with their family."

"Okay," Lucy said. She stood up and followed Tonks to where a bunch of redheads where running around.

They walked up to one of the older boys and Tonks tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned around and smiled at Tonks. "Hey, Tonks!"

"Hey, Charlie. This is Lucy."

"Hi," Lucy said quietly.

"Hey, Lucy," Charlie said. "Did you just get here? I haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah, we came last night," Lucy said.

"Oh, we've been here for a really long time. I don't remember how long for sure," Charlie said thoughtfully. "Do you want to meet my family?"

"Sure."

He motioned for them to follow. He walked over to another boy who looked a little older than him. "This is my brother, Bill."

Bill looked over at Lucy and Tonks and smiled. They said hello to Bill, who was nine years old. Then Charlie introduced Percy, who was four. Charlie introduced them to Fred and George who were two years old and twins. Charlie's youngest brother was only a couple months old and was named Ron. His mother, Molly Weasley, was sitting off to the side with Tonks's mother, Andromeda Tonks, and some other parents, holding Ron in her arms and watching the other children run around.

"What did you say your name was, dear?" Molly asked Lucy.

"Lucy Collins," she replied quietly.

"Lucy? That's a very nice name," Molly said, making Lucy smile. She shifted the baby in her arms slightly. "Would you like to hold Ron?"

"Um, n-no. I don't want to accidentally hurt him," Lucy mumbled hesitantly.

Molly smiled. "Oh you won't hurt him. Here, come sit here and I'll help you."

Lucy sat down on the chair that she pulled out for her. Molly showed her how to hold the baby. Lucy held the sleeping baby and smiled. "He's so... little."

Molly smiled. "Yes, he is," she replied.

"Where is your family, Lucy?" Andromeda asked.

"My brother and his girlfriend are over there," Lucy said, motioning towards Daniel and Nina on the other side of the room with her head, not wanting to let go of the baby. "His name is Daniel and her name is Nina. And Mum went to a meeting with Uncle Albus."

"Uncle Albus?" Andromeda asked. "What's your mother's name?"

"Minerva McGonagall," Lucy said.

"Minerva is your mother?" Andromeda asked.

Lucy nodded.

"Wow, I didn't know that Minerva had a daughter," Molly said. She gave Lucy a smile. "You know, your mother taught both of us and our husbands when we were at school."

"Really?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod. She took Ron back from Lucy and said. "Alright, dear, why don't you go play? I don't want to keep you from having your fun."

"Thank you," Lucy said, hopping off her chair. She looked at the baby for a second before looking back up at Molly. "It was nice to meet you both and Ron."

Molly smiled. "It was nice to meet you too, Lucy."

"Have fun with the others," Andromeda said with a smile.

Lucy turned and raced over to where Tonks, Charlie and Bill were standing by the door of the classroom. "We should go," she heard Bill say. "It'll be fun."

"What'll be fun?" Lucy asked.

"We're going to go explore the castle!" Tonks whispered excitedly, after looking up to make sure her mother wasn't anywhere close by.

Bill smiled and nodded. "Yeah, our parents are distracted. We could sneak out and see what the other parts of the castle are like. We haven't really been to very many. You want to come?"

"Sure," Lucy replied with a smile. "I want to go exploring too."

"Okay let's go," Charlie said. "Mum's not looking."

They quickly and quietly made it to the door of the classroom and went through it. They walked through the hallways, Bill leading the way though he had as much a clue as to where they were going as the rest of them had. He led them up different stairs and down different corridors. They talked with ghosts and paintings and touched suits of armour. Excited to finally explore the rest of the castle.

...

"Albus, that's so many Order safe houses now," Minerva said with a sigh. "Collins Mansion, the Bones House, Remus's flat, Dorcas's flat. How are they finding out about all of our secret safe places?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I think we both know the answer."

"But we've been so careful," Minerva said. "I trust everyone on the Order. I can't think of anyone that I've ever had doubts about."

"Well, of all the safe houses, yours was the most secretive," Dumbledore said. "A lot more Order members knew about the Bones's safe house and Dorcas's flat than about Collins Mansion."

Minerva looked at him with a horrified expression. "Everyone I've told -"

"It has to be one of them," Dumbledore said sadly. "There is no other option. Who all knew about your home?"

Minerva took a deep breath. "Well, Amelia, of course, but she's definitely not the spy." She saw Dumbledore's expression and frowned. "She's not. I saw her after Edgar and his family were killed. It's definitely not her, Albus."

"I did not say it was."

Her frown deepened but she let it go. "James, Sirius, Lily, Remus, Peter, Dorcas, and Marlene all knew about it but I can't imagine the spy is any of them."

"Anyone else?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, Emmeline but I trust her too. Alastor as well," Minerva said. Quietly she added, "who's still alive anyway."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and thought for a second. "Maybe we should reopen investigations into these members."

"Maybe we should reopen the investigation into all members," Minerva muttered. "Maybe we should let paranoia destroy the allies we have left."

"Minerva."

"I know, Albus," she mumbled. "It's better safe than sorry, I know, but I... I believed in the Order. I believed that we were all fighting towards the same goal so to learn that at least one of them may be a spy for the other side... I just... I don't know."

"We will get to the bottom of this," he said. "We will."

...

Lucy, Tonks, and Charlie stopped walking suddenly when their leader stopped. They had reached a staircase blocked off by a gargoyle. The gargoyle stared at them for a moment before in a deep voice it said, "password."

"We don't know the password," Bill said.

"No access without the password," the gargoyle replied indifferently.

"What's up there?" Tonks asked but the gargoyle doesn't respond.

"Let's just go," Charlie mumbled.

"Wait, I read something about a password on a note on my mum's desk," Lucy said suddenly. They all turned and looked at her. "I think the password is Lemon Drops."

"Correct," the gargoyle said, jumping aside.

"Nice one, Lucy!" Bill exclaimed as he led the younger kids up the stairs that were revealed when the gargoyle moved out of the way. "I wonder where this leads."

They walked up the long spiral stairs until they reached a large wooden door with a black door handle. Bill walked right up to the door and smiled.

"Are you sure we should be here?" Tonks said, suddenly feeling a little nervous. The door was very big and daunting.

"Well we have to now! I mean, we came all this way didn't we?" Charlie replied with a smile. "Don't you want to know what's being guarded by the gargoyle?"

"Yeah but what if it's something important that they want hidden?" Tonks replied. "Something for the war or something."

"War..." Lucy said softly but the other three didn't hear her. This was the second time someone had mentioned a war. Were they really at war? In all the confusion from yesterday she hadn't had a chance to really think about it.

Bill looked them over. "Okay, why don't we take a vote?" he said. He looked at the door and thought for a second before speaking again. "I say we open it, Charlie is with me and Tonks is against. What about you Lucy?"

"Um," Lucy mumbled. The other three looked at her expectantly. Tonks looked a little anxious while Bill and Charlie grinned at her. "I'm sure it'll be okay," she said to Tonks reassuringly. "Let's open it!"

"Great!" Bill said, turning around and facing the door. He reached up to the handle and slowly pulled opened the door. Their eyes widened when they saw Minerva and Dumbledore sitting at a desk looking at them.

"Oh no," Lucy whispered.

"Lucy," Minerva said, lips thinning. She stared at her and furrowed her brow. She recalled specifically telling the girl to stay put.

"Ah... hi?" Lucy said, giving a little wave.

Dumbledore stood up. Giving the frightened looking children a warm smile, he said, "Well, hello. We were not expecting visitors today. How did you four manage to get past the gargoyle out front?"

"Um," Bill said, not wanting to rat Lucy out but having trouble coming up with another explanation.

"I saw the password on the note you sent Mum," Lucy said quietly, leaning her head down and looking at her shoes.

"Ah, I see," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. He looked over at Minerva. "We may need to be a little more careful about those notes from this point on."

"Um, should we -" Bill began but before he could finish, Minerva interrupted.

"Why are you four not in Classroom C with the other children?"

"We - we got bored and wanted to explore the castle," Bill replied uncertainly.

"I'm sure your mothers are worried sick," Minerva said.

"Maybe we should just -" Charlie tried this time but again Minerva interrupted.

"I shall escort you back," Minerva said, standing up. She looked back at Dumbledore. "Our meeting was coming to an end anyhow."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll see you all later."

Minerva walked over to the children and then passed them through the door. "Follow me."

Bill and Charlie exchanged looks before scurrying after her. Lucy and Tonks followed behind them. Lucy looked at Tonks and whispered, "sorry."

Tonks smiled. "It's okay. It was fun exploring the castle while it lasted."

"Yeah!" Lucy replied with a smile. She looked over at her mother and then back at Tonks again. "Maybe next time we won't go that way though."

"Yeah, that probably wasn't a good idea. I knew that the gargoyle had to be guarding something," Tonks said with a laugh, "but I didn't know it was going to be Professor Dumbledore's office."

"I'm sure there are other more interesting places we could explore anyways," she said with a nod. "Where we wouldn't get caught."

"Yeah, like we could find the House Common Rooms!" Tonks replied with a smile. "They're also password protected though, I think."

They walked down to the daycare. Minerva opened the door and ushered them in. As soon as Bill and Charlie's little red heads made it past the threshold Mrs. Weasley was there hugging and kissing them. "Where did you two go? I was worried sick! Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"Nymphadora Tonks! What did you think you were doing?" Mrs. Tonks exclaimed when she saw Tonks. Tonks gave Lucy a small smile before running off to her mother to try and explain her absence.

Lucy looked around and began walking away when Minerva grabbed her shoulder. "And where do you think you're going?"

Lucy turned around and looked up at her mother. "Um, to find Nina and Daniel."

"I'm sure they can wait a few minutes while we talk," Minerva said, kneeling down in front of her daughter. She held Lucy by the arms and gave her a look. Lucy was a little worried. She really hoped that her mother wouldn't start yelling. She didn't. Instead in a disappointed voice she said, "Why did you leave this room, Lucy? Didn't I tell you not too?"

"Ah, well, we were bored and we thought the castle was pretty cool and we wanted to see more of it and... and it just kind of happened," Lucy said quietly, looking down at her shoes again. This was so much worse than yelling. "Sorry."

"Walking around like that can be very dangerous. Even here, Lucy. You could get lost or get stuck in odd rooms and we wouldn't be able to find you. That's why we don't let you walk around wherever you want. That's why you're supposed to stay here," Minerva said. "I'm very disappointed in you for not listening to me and I don't want to find you doing it again. Am I understood?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, Mum."

"Good," Minerva said.

"Um, Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Are we at war?"

"Huh? Where did you hear that?"

"Tonks said something about a war and Daniel said something about it yesterday as well," Lucy said, looking frightened again. "Is that why the Death Eaters came to house? Is that why we have to stay here? Why everyone else is staying here?"

Minerva sighed. She looked around quickly, seeing all the young children nearby who may be listening. "Lucy, now isn't really a good place to talk about this."

"So we are at war," Lucy whispered. "With who? The Death Eaters? Why?"

"Okay, yes, we are at war but it is not something for you to worry about right now," Minerva said. "We can talk about it more later, okay?"

"Ah... okay..." Lucy mumbled.

"Now, shall we find Daniel and Nina?"

Lucy nodded a little. Minerva stood up and took Lucy's hand. They walked towards some tables where Nina and Daniel were sitting with a Lily, James, Remus, and Dorcas. Nina looked up and smiled at Lucy as she approached. Lucy let go of Minerva's hand and ran up to Nina who picked her up into her lap.

"Hello, Lucy," Lily said with a smile.

"Hi, Lily. Hi, James. Hi, Remus. Hi, Dorcas," Lucy said with a small smile. "Where's Marlene and Sirius?"

James smirked. "Oh, they're off having -"

"Fun," Remus said suddenly, cutting across James. "They're probably somewhere in the castle having a little bit of fun. Playing games, you know, that sort of thing. Right, James?"

"Right, that's what I was going to say Remus," he said, giving Remus a look. "I'm not that stupid."

Lucy frowned and looked up at Nina. "Why are they acting weird?"

"They're not acting weird," Dorcas said instead. "They are weird."

They gave her a look and Lucy smiled. Minerva walked up and sat down beside Daniel. They greeted her and she said hello back before turning to Lily and asking, "How are you doing, dear?"

"Oh, you know. Big, fat, horrible," she mumbled with a sigh, leaning against James. "Very ready for this baby to get out."

Lucy looked at Lily's stomach. "When is the baby coming?"

"Next month," Lily said with a smile, putting a hand on her stomach. Her smile faded as she looked down and shook her head. "You really need to get out."

They talked for a while before Lucy got bored and decided to find something else to do. Tonks was gone now. She and her mother left to find her father. Charlie and Bill were sitting by their own dad, talking to him about their day. Lucy watched for a second before sighing and picking up the cards she had been playing with before Tonks came up to her. She sat down with her back against the wall and shuffled the cards slowly.

She thought about this war that she had just learned about. She remembered last month when Aunty Amelia came over in the middle of the night because of what happened to her brother. Minerva had told her that it had been an accident. Was it actually an accident or was it because of the war? All of the meeting that Minerva went too, all the people that had shown up at home, James and Sirius guarding their house. Was that all because of the war?

Lucy sighed and thought about what happened yesterday. Death Eaters came to their house to get her, Nina, and Daniel. She shook her head a little bit. She didn't want to think about it but no matter how hard she tried, her mind kept wandering back to those three men. They had been so big and scary. She remembered the spell they did on her. _Crucio_. It had hurt like nothing she could have ever imagined. Those words still ran around in her hand. _Are you sure these are her kids? Why would McGonagall care about these dirty brown skins?_ Lucy felt the tears fill her eyes. _Disgusting, really._ She shook her head. Of course, Minerva cared about them. That's why she came back. That's why she brought them here. That's why she was still here with them.

"Hey, what are you doing all on your own?"

Lucy jumped slightly and looked up. Dorcas Meadowes was standing over her and smiling at her. Lucy looked down, quickly wiping her face. "Nothing," she whispered. "Just... just wasting time."

"Do you mind if I sit?" she asked. Lucy shook her head and Dorcas sat down beside her. She frowned a little. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

Lucy didn't say anything for a while before putting down the cards and finally speaking. "No," she whispered. "We're at war."

Dorcas sighed and nodded. "Yes," she said. "We are."

"And there are people who want to hurt us."

"Yes, there might be but you know what?" she said. Lucy looked up at her. "There are so many more people who want to protect you. Protect everyone here. There are so many people who are working very hard every single day to make sure that those bad people don't hurt anyone else ever again."

Lucy looked at her for a second before nodding. "Like Mum."

"Yes," Dorcas said with a smile. "Your mother, your Uncle Albus, your Aunt Amelia. Me, James, Lily, Remus, Peter, Sirius, Marlene. So, so many people."

"Do you think you'll win?" Lucy asked, looking up at her.

Dorcas smiled. "I know we will," she said. "Because how can you lose when you're on the right side?"

"Why are we fighting? What do the Death Eaters want?" Lucy asked.

"Well, they believe in a lot of stupid stuff like that people who can do magic are better than people who can't," Dorcas muttered with a shake of her head.

"That is stupid," Lucy said. "I know a lot of people who are awesome and can't do magic."

"Exactly," Dorcas said. "Like my mother. She can't do magic but she's still a great person who deserves to be treated with respect."

"My Dad couldn't do magic either," Lucy said, looking away again. "He was an amazing person."

Dorcas smiled and took Lucy's hand. "I wish I had been able to meet him. I've heard that he was a very kind and brave man."

Lucy sighed and nodded. She looked across the room over at Bill and Charlie again who were playing cards with their father now. She sighed again and looked back up at Dorcas. "Where are your parents?"

"They're both in India," she said. "They wanted me to come too but I had to stay so that I could help out in the war."

"I'm half Indian," Lucy said with a small smile. "There aren't a lot of Indians at Hogwarts."

"No there really isn't," Dorcas said with a smile. "There aren't a lot of people with different coloured skin but there are some and they're all beautiful."

"Not dirty."

Dorcas looked down at Lucy with a frown. "Of course not," she said. "Did someone says that to you?"

She nodded.

"Here?"

"No, not here," Lucy replied.

"Okay, good," Dorcas said though she still sounded angry and was still frowning. "I was ready to find that person and beat the sh- crap out of them. No one should say that your skin is dirty. It's not. It's beautiful."

Lucy smiled a little. "Thank you," she said. "Your skin is beautiful too."

Dorcas smiled. "Thank you, Lucy," she said. "You know, I had to deal with a lot of stuff like that when I was little too but I learned that it doesn't matter what people say. You want to know what the best way is to get back at people like that?"

"What?"

"It's to work really hard and do so many awesome things and just enjoy your life to the fullest. That's what's going to make them angry the most. When I was younger people used to underestimate me. Thought that I would never be anything special but I worked hard and I got the highest grades in all my classes and now you know what? Death Eaters are running scared away from me!"

Lucy smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," Dorcas said with a smile. "They talk about the Indian girl that took on ten Death Eaters at once all on her own and captured every single one of them. The girl that will take your ass - oops, sorry I shouldn't have said that."

Lucy laughed. She and Dorcas talked for a while longer before Minerva found them and came over. "Time to go, darling," she said, sticking her hand out for Lucy. "We have to go meet your Aunty Amelia for lunch. Please say goodbye to Dorcas and come along."

Lucy nodded and got up. She looked back at Dorcas and smiled. "Thank you for sitting with me and telling me your Death Eater stories, Dorcas," she said happily.

"Death Eater stories?" Minerva asked with a frown.

"No problem, Lucy," Dorcas said with a smile, ignoring Minerva. She got up off the ground as well. "I'm glad I didn't bore you."

"No, it was so cool!" Lucy said, walking back to her mother and took her hand. "I can't wait to hear more!"

"I hope that these stories aren't too... explicit," Minerva said.

"Mum, Dorcas is so cool! Death Eaters are scared of her!" Lucy said excitedly. "Isn't that awesome?"

Minerva smiled and shook her head. "Yes, very awesome."

"I don't know about that," Dorcas said, blushing a little and rubbed the back of her neck. She smiled and shook her head. "Anyways, I told you Death Eaters weren't that scary, right?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. "They're silly."

Minerva smiled. She was glad that Dorcas was helping make Lucy feel a little better. They finally said goodbye to Dorcas and walked out of the classroom. Daniel and Nina following behind. As they walked all Lucy could think about was how awesome Dorcas was and how she wished that she could talk to her more.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, July 2nd 1998_**

"Get down here, you stupid bird!" Raj said angrily as a small barn owl flew around his office too high up for him to reach. It still had the letters attached to its leg, never giving Raj a chance to get them off.

"Mr. Patil," his secretary's voice said, coming through the phone speaker. "A Miss Amelia Bones is here to see you."

Raj pressed a button on the phone and said, "great, Christine, please send her in. Thanks."

After a few moments the door opened and Amelia came into the office. She smiled at him but before she could say anything he spoke.

"Close that door behind you," he said. He looked up and glared at the owl still flying around in circles, mocking him. "I don't want this bloody overgrown pigeon getting any escape ideas."

Amelia closed the door and laughed. "Are you having problems with your owl?"

"It's not listening to me!"

"Were you mean to him?"

"I was not until it started doing circles above my head," Raj said. "I swear to god if this bird poops anywhere in my office..."

"Wow, a lot of anger. I think you just spooked him," Amelia said with a laugh. She shook her head and pulled out her wand. A net appeared out of nowhere and caught the owl. It floated down towards Amelia and she held the owl gently. "Shh... it's alright. The big scary man isn't going to hurt you anymore."

Raj gave her a look as she walked over and set the owl on his desk. She untied the letters and handed them to him before patting the owl on the head. It hooted happily at her and Raj glared at it.

"I did nothing to it. I just tried to untie the letters and it freaked out," Raj mumbled, sitting back down in his desk chair and opening the letters.

"You probably accidentally pinched it's leg too hard or something," Amelia said, sitting down as well. "You have to be gentle, you know."

Raj waved his hand dismissively at her as he opened the first letter. It was from Lucy. He smiled when he saw that she had also sent him a drawing of the Hogwarts castle. He turned it around to show Amelia. She smiled and took it so she could get a better look.

" _Dear Uncle Raj_ ," he read aloud. " _Hogwarts is awesome! It's a big castle with paintings that move and talk and real ghosts! The staircases move and our room is hidden behind a trap door in Mum's office. There are a lot of other kids here that I met. I met a girl named Tonks. Actually her name is Nymphadora Tonks but she doesn't like that name so she has everyone call her Tonks. She's a Metamorphmagus which means she can change the way she looks whenever she wants! She keeps her hair pink! I also met Charlie and Bill Weasley. They're brothers and they have four younger brothers. They all have bright red hair_ \- wow, six children."

Amelia nodded. "The Weasley's are a big family," she said. "Very nice though. The father, Arthur, works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department at the Ministry. He is a very lovely man."

" _I also talked more with a girl named Dorcas Meadowes. She came over to our house for dinner once when you were away_ ," Raj continued reading. " _She's so cool, Uncle Raj! She's like the most powerful witch of her generation. She's so powerful that the Death Eaters are scared of her! She took down ten of them all by herself and arrested every single one! She's so awesome. She's also from India and her parents are there now like Nina's. They want her to come back to India where it's safe but she said that she has to help fight the war first._ "

"Dorcas is a wonderful girl," Amelia said with a smile. "One of our best Order members and she's only twenty, I believe."

"Wow," Raj said. He flipped the page and kept reading in his head. He smiled and shook his head at the letter. "Lucy talks about her for another page and a half. I think she may be in love with this girl."

Amelia laughed. "Last time I visited I heard all about Dorcas Meadowes," she said. "I think she may be just as obsessed with her as she is with Wonder Woman."

"God help Dorcas Meadowes if that's the case," Raj said with a laugh. He kept reading the letter until he got to the last paragraph. He read this one out loud. " _Mum said that you can come for a visit whenever you and Aunty Amelia are free. I hope you can come soon. I'll introduce you to the nice paintings and ghosts! I know you'll love Hogwarts and I can't wait to see you. I drew a picture of Hogwarts so that you could see what it looks like until you can see it for real. Write soon, I'll talk to you later. Love, Lucy_."

"I'm available next weekend if you'd like me to take you up there," Amelia said as Raj took Lucy's drawing back from her and folded up the letter.

"That sounds great," he said, flipping to the next letter. This one was from Daniel. "I can't wait to see this Hogwarts place. It sounds very magical."

Amelia smiled. "It is."

"So, what exactly does Minerva teach there?" he asked.

"She teaches Transfigurations," she said. "It's the magic of changing one thing into another. She's also an Animagus, you know. That's when you can turn into an animal without using your wand. Kind of like a Metamorphmagus but you only get one animal. She's a tabby cat."

"That would explains Jay's sudden love for cats after he met her. And why he called Lucy 'Kitten'," Raj said with a smile as he opened up Daniel's letter. Before he could read it however, he looked up at Amelia quickly and facepalmed. "Oh my god... I found Lucy laying on the couch with a tabby cat one day when I came home from work and I told her that she couldn't keep it because Minerva would be angry. That was Minerva the whole time, wasn't it?"

Amelia smiled. "It was," she said. "Minerva actually told me about that. Lucy had to pretend to put her outside before running up and putting her down in her bedroom so you wouldn't be suspicious. Lucy thought it was very funny."

Raj shook his head though he smiled. He looked back down and read through Daniel's letter. When he flipped the pages, he found another one behind it. It was from Minerva. He was surprised to see her signature at the bottom of the letter. He raised an eyebrow at it. "Looks like I've received a formal apology."

 _Dear Raj,_

 _It's been a while and I have actually begun to miss your stupid snarky comments, as ridiculous as that might sound. We've been at Hogwarts for about a week now and I think the children are enjoying their time here, thankfully. Lucy has learned about the war now though and is a little scared. I've explained to her that it's safe here but I think a visit from you will be the only thing that'll make her feel a bit normal again. I do hope that you will be able to visit soon. The children miss you. I miss you too._

 _I realize that you may still be upset with me. You have every right to be but please know that I was only doing what I thought was best. The war started five years ago and ever since then it has just been getting worse and worse. Two years ago Trevor McKee, a Hogwarts professor, and his entire family, children included, were found dead in their own home. The children were only four, two, and one. A message in blood was written in the house proclaiming that the same fate would be seen by every other Hogwarts professor that still defied the Dark Lord, the leader of the Death Eaters._

 _We had known for a long time before then that Hogwarts professors had a large target on their backs but it wasn't until this attack where it actually felt so close to home. After many long conversations, some of which ended very, very, badly, Jay and I came to the conclusion that me leaving home would be the safest option for everyone. I knew owls could be tracked and I knew that I could be followed home from Hogwarts so I didn't want to put my family at risk like that. We thought this was our best option. I've regretted that decision every single day since. I'll always wonder now how different things would be if I had known that he was sick. If I had made it easier for Daniel to be able to contact me if something went horribly wrong like that. I will forever live with that guilt and I will forever try to make it up to these children for being the reason their father is no longer around. That's why I came back home when I heard. That's why I took them up to Castletown for Christmas. That's why I've brought them to Hogwarts now._

 _So, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything you've had to give up, everything you've lost, everything you've had to do because I wasn't there. You lost your best friend and I lost my husband. We both loved him and we both miss him but it is I that hold this responsibility and I should have told you everything and apologized to you a lot sooner. I think the reason I didn't tell you sooner was because of the shame I felt for not being able to save him. Daniel and Lucy both tried to get me to tell you about magic and the war but I just couldn't make myself do it. I thought about it many times. The day you asked me to sign away custody of Lucy, the day you almost caught me in my cat form snuggling with Lucy on the couch, the night Amelia's brother and his family were murdered. I should have told you. I really should have but I didn't and I am very sorry._

 _I know that even though we have finally told you the truth now, it still feels very late. Jay asked me himself if it would be so bad if he told you about magic. Apparently he had never kept a secret so big from you before. There are laws against these things though and at the time we could not justify letting you know about magic. I didn't want Jay to get in trouble and have his memory modified by the Ministry for Magic because of me. Now, though, we can justify telling you about magic. Lucy said it herself when she tried to get me to tell you, you're our family. She and Daniel both think of you as family and I do too._

 _Family is a funny thing. People within a family can do things that other members don't always agree with but usually, eventually, they forgive each other. I hope that in time you can forgive me too and we can be more of a family. I hope that you can find that I deserve it, I don't know if I do myself to be completely honest, but I hope eventually I do._

 _With Love,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

Raj's smile faded away and he suddenly felt horrible for joking earlier. He set the letter down on the desk and stared at it. Amelia watched him with a frown. "Are you alright?"

He shook his head and quickly opened his desk. He needed to write back to Minerva right away. He pulled out some paper with Collins Enterprises letterhead on it and a pen. He set it down on the desk and looked up at Amelia.

"Ah... I think I need a minute," he said. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright. I understand," she said with a small smile. "When you're done your letters just write the names on the envelopes and tie it to the owl's leg. _Gently_. The Owl will know where to go from there. If you still have problems you can call my house number. I've given you my number, right?"

Raj nodded. "Thank you, Amelia," he said.

"Of course," she said as she got up. "I'll come by your apartment on Saturday to take you to Hogwarts."

"Alright," he said. "See you then."

Amelia said goodbye and headed out of the room, the owl still sitting on the desk. It hooted after her and made a sad little sound when she left out the door. Raj sighed and gave the bird a little pat on the head.

"I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, Mr. Owl," he said. "I hope that we can work together from this point on. I have some very important letters that I need to get sent out quickly."

The owl looked back at him, cocked it's head to the side, and stared at him for a second before hooting happily. Raj smiled and pet the owl's head again.

"Wonderful," he said. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll have these letters done for you to take back to Hogwarts."

He clicked a button on his phone and informed Christine that he would need to push back some meetings as he had some important work to attend to quickly. He turned back to the paper on his desk and got to work on his letters, starting with Minerva's.

...

"Look! Look!" Lucy said excitedly, pointing up at Minerva's office window where an Owl was tapping its beak against the glass. She raced over to it and tried to jump up but she couldn't reach.

Minerva looked up from her desk and smiled. She noticed the letters on the owl's leg and smiled a little. "Those must be from your Uncle Raj," she said, getting up from her desk and walking over to the window. She lifted Lucy up and Lucy opened the window so the owl could hop in. It hooted happily up at them and shook its little leg, apparently very proud of itself. Lucy giggled and gently untied the letters from the leg.

"Thank you, Mr. Owl," Lucy said, petting the owl's head.

"Yes, thank you," Minerva said as she set Lucy back down on the floor. "You may go back to the Owlery now."

The owl hooted happily before jumping out of the window again and flying off. Lucy watched the bird fly away and waved. "Bye, bye, Mr. Owl!"

Minerva smiled and closed the window before looking down at Lucy. "That looks like a lot of letters."

Lucy nodded. "One for me," she said happily, "one for Daniel, one for Nina, and one for you!"

She held out the letter with Minerva's name on it up to her mother. Minerva was surprised to get a letter. "Wow," she said, taking the letter from her. "A letter for me."

"Where are Daniel and Nina?" Lucy asked as Minerva walked back towards her desk.

"I think they're inside," she said. "Would you like to go in and give them their letters?"

Lucy nodded and Minerva pulled the torch down to open the door for her. Lucy thanked her and raced inside to find her brother and his girlfriend. Minerva smiled and sat back down at her desk as the door closed behind them. She opened the envelope and pulled the letter out. It was written on Collins Enterprise letterhead. She hadn't seen the minimalistic, copper, geometric logo in a while. She sighed and read the letter over.

 _Dear Minerva,_

 _You are not the reason Jay Collins is dead. He was sick. It wasn't great but it wasn't your fault. You are not the reason that Lucy and Daniel don't have their father anymore. Sometimes shit happens and it sucks. It really sucks and it feels like it's never going to get better but it does. Lucy and Daniel love you. You don't have anything to make up for._

 _We've been stupid. Both of us. We've been fighting and Jay wouldn't have wanted that. I know that if he were here he would tell us that we're being stupid. Things are bad right now, I now understand that, and we can't be at each other's throats during times like these. If we are going to keep Lucy, Daniel, and Nina safe, we're going to need to work together from now on. That means no more secrets. I don't have any secrets from you and I hope that you don't have anymore secrets from me. You're right that family is a funny thing and I want you to be in my family but I can't do that if you keep things from me. I don't have great experience with family so I can't say that I'm an expert in the subject but I do know family works better when you are open with one another so let's not do this again._

 _I'm sorry for saying those horrible things when I was angry. I know now that you were not trying to take Daniel and Lucy away from me but at the time it definitely felt that way. It's weird, you know. I never wanted kids. I never thought that I would ever have any but now, though I still don't want kids of my own, I think of Daniel and Lucy as my children and the idea of someone trying to take them away from me just angers me so much. I suppose that must have been how you felt when I tried to get you to sign custody of Lucy over to Daniel. Again I apologize for trying to do that. I made a promise, that I would take care of these children, and I will do anything to keep that promise._

 _I'm not angry. I was but I'm not anymore. I understand that it's hard, this whole secrecy thing and this whole war thing. I would like to learn more about it and help out as much as I can. If we are a family now, your war is my war, your problems are my problems, and I want to help._

 _Amelia and I will be over next weekend. I hope that when we do, you will tell me all about this war and tell me anything else I may not know yet. I believe you said it the first time we saw each other again, our goal is the same. We both just want to protect Lucy and Daniel. Let's start with a clean slate. No more secrets. No more yelling. No more saying horrible things we don't mean. Let's be a family._

 _Raj Patil_

Minerva smiled a little as she folded the letter back up and stuck it back into the envelope. The letter, though not warm per say, was a start. She was glad that Raj was finally forgiving her. It seemed that Daniel was right after all. Telling him about magic had helped the situation. She wasn't looking forward to Daniel finding out and lording this over on her. She set the letter into one of her desk drawers and decided to get back to work.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, July 11th 1998_**

"Guess who's here!" Raj said, walking into Minerva's office without knocking. Amelia followed in after him.

"Uncle Raj! Uncle Raj!" Lucy exclaimed happily, running over to him. He smiled and picked her up into his arms. He kissed her on the cheek and she giggled.

"Hey, Princess," he said with a smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good!"

Daniel and Nina got up from where they were sitting in front of Minerva's desk and walked over to greet Raj and Amelia too. Minerva smiled and got up as well. She walked over and, to her surprise, Raj pulled her into a hug as well. She smiled and hugged him back.

"It's nice to see you, Raj," she said with a smile.

"You as well," he said, pulling away and looking back at the others. "So, Hogwarts, huh? It looks pretty amazing from what I saw."

"Did you come up the moving staircases, Uncle Raj?" Lucy asked excitedly. "Aren't they so cool?!"

"Yes, very cool," Raj said with a smile. "Though, they make it very easy to get lost, don't they? I'm glad that your Aunt Amelia was here to guide me so I actually made it up here."

Minerva smiled. "Yes," she said. "I'm glad Amelia came with you as well."

Amelia gave her a look before rolling her eyes. "So," she said, looking over at Daniel and Nina. "How are you enjoying Hogwarts?"

"It's great," Nina said with a smile. "Never been any place like it. Everyone here is very nice and they don't seem to care very much that Daniel and I can't do magic."

"Yeah, it's cool," Daniel said. "We've met a lot of pretty cool people and have learned a lot of about magic."

"Me too! Me too!" Lucy said. "James and Sirius taught me to do a lot of new spells!"

"They are not very nice spells," Minerva said with a frown, "and she is no longer allowed to do them."

Raj laughed and tousled Lucy's hair. "Maybe you should talk to someone else about some nicer spells you could learn."

"Dorcas taught me lots of spells too!" Lucy said. "You know, Dorcas, right Uncle Raj? I told you about her in my letters."

"Yes, I feel like I know Miss Meadowes personally now," he said with a laugh. "You've told me so much about her."

"Oh, you have no idea," Daniel said, suddenly sounding very tired. He sat back down on his chair and sighed. "She never shuts up about her."

"She doesn't," Nina said with a laugh. "She really admires Dorcas. That's not a bad thing."

"Of course not," Minerva said with a smile. "I'm glad that she and Dorcas are such good friends."

Nina and Minerva sat down as well and Amelia walked over to conjure up some chairs for herself and Raj. Raj picked Lucy up into his lap and sat down in his chair. They talked for a while before Lucy was able to convince Raj to come down to the children's classroom with her to play with her friends.

"I told them that you were coming and that you were really fun and they want to meet you too," she said excitedly as Raj got up. "They want to play with you too!"

Raj smiled. "I am pretty fun, aren't I?"

Lucy nodded vigorously, took his hand and dragged him out of the room. Raj laughed and said a quick goodbye to everyone before the door closed behind him. Minerva smiled and shook her head.

"She has been excited all week for him to meet all her friends," Nina said with a smile.

"He's quite good with children," Amelia said with a smile. "Even if he doesn't think so."

"It's ridiculous, really," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "He's wonderful with Lucy and yet he still think's he's rubbish."

"It's true but there's something far more important we have to discuss right now," Daniel said with a huge smile on his face. "Guess what."

"What?" Nina asked.

"No, not you," Daniel said. He looked at Minerva. "Guess who was right, Min."

"Me?" Minerva asked.

"Nope."

"Really? Because that's usually the answer to that question," Minerva said.

"I don't think that's true," Amelia said with a smile and a shake of her head. Minerva gave her a look.

"No, it's not," Daniel said. "No, I was right, I said that once you told Uncle Raj about magic things would get better and they did. I told you so."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Are you done?"

"No!" Daniel said. He continued half singing. "I was right you were wrong! I was right you were wrong! Min was wrong!" He nudged his girlfriend. "Come on celebrate with me!"

Nina laughed. "Min was wrong! Min was wrong!"

The two of them kept singing and Minerva rolled her eyes at them again. Amelia laughed and looked at her.

"You were wrong," she said with a little shrug.

"I hate you," Minerva replied, glaring at her.

Amelia laughed and shook her head. "No, you don't."

...

Raj had a lot of fun playing with all the children in the daycare center. Apparently fun people didn't come to play with them very often. They talked of the likes of James Potter and Sirius Black who were both pretty fun but James had been quite busy with Lily lately and Sirius wasn't around all the time. Arthur Weasley was apparently very good at games but not available very often. Marlene McKinnon was also very fun. There were a couple others as well. The problem being that the war kept all of them quite busy and it was hard to make time for the children. It had been a long time since they had someone to play with like Raj.

"Ouf," Raj mumbled as he fell backwards onto the ground.

"I think you play quite roughly with the kids," a woman with black and red hair told Raj. She was looking down at him.

"I don't think so," he said with a laugh. "If anything I think they play quite roughly with me." He got up, making a lot of grunting noises as he did. "I may be getting too old for this."

She laughed and held out her hand to help him. He accepted her help and she pulled him up.

Lucy saw who her uncle was with and ran over excitedly. "Hey, Dorcas!"

"Hello, Lucy," she said with a smile.

"Uncle Raj, this is Dorcas Meadowes!" Lucy said. "Dorcas this is my uncle, Raj Patil. He's the COO of Collins Enterprises and he basically runs our company now."

"Wow," Dorcas said with a laugh.

"Lucy, I've told you, you don't have to say all that when you introduce me to someone," Raj said with a laugh and a shake of his head. He looked back at Dorcas and stuck out his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Dorcas. I've heard a lot about you from this little one."

"Really?" Dorcas asked, shaking his hand and laughing.

"Yes, I think she's in love with you," Raj said.

"No!" Lucy said, going very red in the face. She smacked her uncle's leg. "Uncle Raj!"

He laughed and tousled her hair a little. Dorcas smiled and shook her head.

"Well, I'm flattered," she said. "It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Patil. Lucy has also told me a lot about you."

"Does she?" Raj asked with a smile.

"She's very proud of her Uncle Raj," Dorcas said with a smile.

"Are you, Princess?" he asked with a huge smile on his face, tousling her hair again. Lucy blushed again but didn't say anything. "That's adorable."

"Do you wanna play with us, Dorcas?" Lucy said. "Uncle Raj was teaching us a new game! Do you want to play too?"

"You know I would love too, love, but I actually just came by to say a quick hello before I headed out," she said. "I'm going on a mission for your Uncle Albus so I'll be gone for a couple days."

"Oh," Lucy said sadly.

"It'll be okay, love," Dorcas said with a smile. "I'll see you in three days."

Lucy nodded. She looked up at her Uncle Raj and said, "Dorcas fights bad guys!"

"Yes, I've heard," he said with a smile. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Dorcas. Please be safe on your mission."

"Yeah, be safe Dorcas," Lucy said. "And come home soon."

Dorcas smiled. She kneeled down and gave Lucy a hug. "I will, love," she said. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Dorcas."

She got up and shook Raj's hand again. "It was nice meeting you as well," she said. "Hopefully I'll see you soon too."

Raj smiled and said goodbye to her as well. Dorcas left and Lucy looked up at him happily. "Did you like her?"

"Yes, she was very nice," Raj said with a smile.

Lucy smiled a huge smile and went into how awesome Dorcas was yet again as she took his hand and led him back towards Tonks, Charlie, and Bill. Raj laughed and listened to her rant and rave about Dorcas Meadowes yet again.

...

It was late now and the children had gone to bed. Minerva, Raj, and Amelia were sitting in her sitting room with glasses of scotch in their hands. Amelia and Minerva told Raj all about the war, starting from the very beginning to now. There were some tears, some anger, a lot of refilling glasses. Like many other conversations about the war, this conversation ended with a long silence.

Finally the silence was broken by Raj. He put his glass down on the coffee table with a soft thud and said, "is that all of it then? No more secrets?"

"No more," Amelia said with a small smile.

"Actually, there is one more thing," Minerva said, sitting up on the edge of her seat and pouring herself another glass of scotch. "Something I haven't actually told you yet either, Amelia."

"What is it?" Amelia asked with a frown.

Minerva took a deep breath, leaned back in her chair and told them about the rainy night in March when Albus Dumbledore was interviewing for the Divinations position. She told them about the prophecy he had the pleasure of hearing.

"A real prophecy?" Amelia asked with raised eyebrow. She knew that they existed but she never really took to the field of divination. Minerva was less interested in the subject than she was though so Amelia supposed if she was talking about it, it must be important.

"Yes, a real prophecy," Minerva said with a nod. "About the war."

"What did it say?" Raj asked.

"' _Two shall work together to vanquish the Dark Lord. One, a witch, born half muggle, half magical... born through turmoil not long ago... with powers unlike any other... power not confined to a wand but surged through her whole body... and who would choose the winning side of the war. The other, a wizard, approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equals, but they have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._ '"

"Wow," Raj said. "Do you know who it could be?"

Amelia's eyes widened. She stared at Minerva wordlessly. Minerva chose to ignore her and answer Raj's question instead.

"For the wizard we think it could be the Potters son or another family's son," she said. "The Longbottoms. Both sets of parents have defied You-Know-Who on three separate occasions and both have late July due dates."

"So the wizard that is supposed to defeat this Dark Lord guy... is a baby?" Raj said.

Minerva sighed and nodded.

"How much longer is this war going to go on for?" Raj asked.

"I don't know," Minerva whispered.

"What about for the witch?" Raj asked.

Minerva didn't reply. Amelia took this as confirmation of what she was already thinking. "Raj," she whispered, "' _power not confined to a wand but surged through her whole body..._ '"

Minerva nodded sadly. "Albus thinks the witch is Lucy."

"Lucy?" Raj said, shocked. "No, no, no. Lucy can't fight a war."

"I know," Minerva said with a sigh.

There was silence for a while. The three of them thought of little six year old Lucy running off to battle and shuddered. It's not something any of them wanted. She was a child, not a soldier.

The silence dragged on. Everyone was done talking. There was nothing left to say now. No more secrets to be revealed. No more stories left untold. Everything was out there on the table for them to think about. Minerva felt the tears fill her eyes as she thought about her baby having to fight in a war. Amelia saw this and put a hand on her shoulder. Raj let out a deep sigh. There was nothing left to say.


	15. TLT -- 15

**_Friday, July 31st 1998_**

The weeks passed by pretty quickly at Hogwarts. Lucy played with Tonks, Charlie and Bill more, she explored the castle more, and she talked with Dorcas almost every single day. They talked about everything. Lucy loved talking to her. Dorcas told her all about things that Minerva, Uncle Albus, and Aunty Amelia wouldn't. Dorcas told her about the war, leaving out a lot because even though her line was a lot further back than Minerva's, she still drew a line somewhere. She told Lucy about her most recent missions for the Aurors and about the Death Eaters that she had caught or fought hard but still managed to get away. Talking with Dorcas quickly became Lucy's favourite part of her day.

Lucy also talked with James and Lily. They were staying at Hogwarts while Lily was pregnant. They had plans to go back to their flat in London after the baby was born. James loved playing cards and other board games with Lucy, Tonks, Charlie and Bill. He told them funny stories of things he and his friends did when they were in school, all the trouble they got into, and how much he was sure Minerva absolutely hated them. Lily wasn't always up for games and things. She was very tired and uncomfortable, being very pregnant now, but she also got in on the story telling action as much as she could. She had her own stories of things she, Marlene, Docas, and a girl named Mary MacDonald got into while at school.

Sirius and Marlene weren't staying at Hogwarts but they came by every so often. Marlene was staying in a safe house with the rest of her family and Sirius had a flat in London that he usually stayed at when he wasn't with Marlene. Sirius ran around outside with the kids and he taught Lucy, Tonks, and Charlie how to fly a broomstick on children brooms that didn't go very high. Bill already knew how to fly because his dad had taught him and he flew circles around the others just to annoy them. Sirius taught Lucy how to play quidditch and some spells that Minerva probably would have prefered Lucy not learned. Marlene did Lucy and Tonks's hair and read them stories from _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_. She played games with them that the boys never wanted to play and helped the girls pull pranks on the boys. Sirius was not very happy when he walked through a door with Bill and Charlie after taking them out fishing in the Black Lake and was covered in a bucket of green slime. Soon they were in an all out prank war, girls versus boys, that had yet to be resolved. So far though, the girls were winning. A fact that Marlene loved to lord over Sirius.

Remus Lupin was also staying at Hogwarts. He was a lot less energetic than James and Sirius were but Lucy loved him just as much. There was a span of days where he disappeared and when he returned he had large scars over his face and arms. He had not talked much with anyone but Dorcas right after but he smiled when Lucy asked to make sure he was okay. Before and after that he talked with Lucy about Batman and Wonder Woman. He loved all those comics too, along with Superman and X Men. She was so excited to learn this. She, and Daniel too sometimes, nerded out over comic books with him. Remus said that his mother had gotten him into them. She was a Muggle and her favourite superhero had been Wonder Woman too. Remus told Lucy all about her. Her name was Hope Lupin. She had fallen for her husband Lyall after he had saved her from a Boggart. He had become like the superheros she had read about so fondly, Remus had said. She had always been a funny, whimsical person. She had topped her wedding cake with a Boggart shaped cake topper to commemorate the day she had met Lyall Lupin. Remus also told Lucy that when he was eleven there was a little bit of a worry that he may not be able to go to Hogwarts so Hope, even though she had been a Muggle, had written to Dumbledore to beg him to let Remus attend. He hadn't told her why he may not have gotten into Hogwarts though. Remus credited his mother with being the reason he had gotten the chance to come to Hogwarts, had been able to meet his amazing friends, and had gotten to a place in his life were, even though he the war was going on, he was happy.

"She was probably the strongest, funniest, and most loving woman I've ever known," Remus had said. "Dad always said that he had never really had fun until he had met her."

Lucy had smiled. "Where do they live? Will they come to Hogwarts too?" she asked. "I would like to meet them both."

Remus sighed and shook his head. A few years ago Hope had gotten very sick and had not made it. Remus said that she had smiled and laughed all through her illness but in the end it had been too much for her to take. She died in her sleep one night. Lyall still lived in Scotland and Remus went to see him every so often. He had tried to get Remus to stay with him but Remus thought it was too dangerous for him to stay.

"My daddy always smiled and laughed when he was sick too," Lucy told Remus quietly, looking down at her hands. "He never wanted us to worry about him and was always happy no matter what."

Remus gave her a small smile and a hug. He told Lucy more about his mother when she asked and she told him everything she remembered about her father. It felt good to talk about him to someone who seemed to understand exactly how she felt. She knew that had Hope and Jay met each other they would have been great friends.

Raj and Amelia came over for a visit a few times. Lucy loved when they came over. Raj played with her, Tonks, Bill, and Charlie, and Amelia took Lucy around to explore the castle. Their visits gave Minerva a nice break so that she could actually get some work done. Raj had met everyone else now and he got along great with them all. Lucy thought that Sirius was a lot like Raj, just maybe a little meaner. Raj got involved in the prank war from time to time but he always helped out on the girl's side, a fact that did not make Sirius very happy. He met Dumbledore who was surprised to see him but happy to finally meet him. He also learned more about the war and had very hushed conversations with Minerva and Amelia about it while Lucy, Daniel and Nina were playing inside the private rooms.

With July coming to an end, Lucy, Daniel and Nina only had a month left before the school started again. Daniel and Nina were starting to get worried about what they were going to do when the year started. Lucy on the other hand was having fun at Hogwarts and wasn't too worried about missing some school, though she did miss Anne a lot.

"Well, you still have your flat on campus don't you, love?" Minerva asked Nina. She was sitting on her office floor in front of Lucy, helping her build something out of Legos.

"Yes," Nina replied. She was sitting at Minerva's desk, leaning back with her feet up on the desk and a copy of this morning's _Daily Prophet_ open in her hands. Daniel was sitting at the desk across from her doing the crossword from an old Muggle newspaper from London.

"Well, we could set up some protections on the flat and you and Daniel can stay there during the year," Minerva said, handing over the red block that Lucy needed. Lucy took it and put it on top of another block. "I think it's far enough away that you will be safe."

"Didn't the house in Rochester have the same protections though?" Nina asked. "And they still found it anyway."

"Well, we won't tell anyone about this flat," Minerva said.

Lucy looked up from her the Lego plane she was building and frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Someone told the Death Eaters about our house?"

"Maybe," she said with a sigh. "That's the only way we can think of that they would have found out about you all."

"Like a spy in the Order?" Daniel asked with a frown, looking up from his crossword.

Minerva nodded as she tried to hand Lucy another block. Lucy was distracted now though. She looked at Minerva and asked, "Who?"

"We don't know," Minerva said. She looked over at Daniel. "You two go back to Canterbury. I will have Albus put protections around it. We can call make it unplottable so no one will know the flat even exists. I can be your Secret-Keeper. Of course, if we do that you will not be able to bring friends back to the flat unless I tell them the address."

"That's alright," Daniel said. "We haven't used that flat in months. All of our friends think that we're staying in Rochester so we can make excuses for not having people over. What do you think, Nina?"

Nina sighed and nodded. "Alright, then what about Lucy?"

"Well, I can have someone Apparate back and forth to drop Lucy off and pick her up from school," Minerva said, giving Lucy a smile.

Lucy frowned. She looked over at Daniel. "But then I won't see you guys all the time."

Daniel gave her a smile. "Maybe you and Min can Apparate down to Canterbury to see us on the weekend."

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile. "We can do that. Don't worry, sweetheart. It'll be just until the war ends. Then we'll go back to Collins Mansion."

Lucy sighed but nodded. She looked back down at her plane. Daniel looked back down at his crossword. "Hey, Lucy. What was Kanga in Winnie the Pooh's kid's name again?"

Lucy looked up and smiled. "Roo!"

"Roo! Right!" Daniel said, scribbling it down quickly.

Nina looked at him and shook her head though she smile. Minerva smiled too and reached over to tousle Lucy's hair. She put the last block on her plane and stood up to walk closer to Minerva. Lucy sat down on Minerva's lap, lifting her plane into the air. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and kissed her forehead. Lucy leaned back into Minerva, looked up and smiled at her.

"You like it?" she asked, holding up her plane.

"Yes, it's very nice," Minerva replied with a smile. "You did a good job, love."

"To bad it doesn't fly for real," Lucy said with a sigh.

"You could throw it and see if it does," Daniel said, looking up from his crossword again. Lucy gave him a look but he just smiled.

Minerva smiled and pulled out her wand. She reached out and tapped the plane. It rose into the air out of Lucy's hand and flew around the room. Lucy smiled.

"It can fly!"

"That's cheating, I think," Daniel said.

"You always say that when they use magic," Nina said with a smile.

"Because it is."

"No, it's not," Lucy said, furrowing her brow. Minerva smiled and with a wave of her wand the plane came back and landed in front of Lucy. She picked it back up and spun one of the propellers a little. She smiled and turned back to look at Minerva. "It's a pretty good plane, I think. Even if it needs a little help to fly."

"Yes, I think so," Minerva said with a smile.

Just then there was a knock on the office door. Lucy jumped up quickly and ran to the door. She opened it up and found a very sweaty and out of breath Sirius standing there.

"Hey, Sirius!" Lucy said.

"H-hi, Lucy," he said, still out of breath. He walked passed her into the office. "M-Minerva! Lily - she just... Oh my god, I'm so out of shape. Lily just had her baby!"

"Really?" Minerva asked, standing up immediately. Nina and Daniel looked up quickly as well. "Well, let's go then!"

She walked passed Sirius and out the door. Lucy smiled and ran after her. "I want to meet the baby too!"

Nina, Daniel and Sirius followed as well. Lucy ran up to her mother and took her hand. Minerva looked down at her and smiled. She led them all down to the Hospital Wing. Inside there were a few beds with the curtains drawn. Minerva turned to look at Sirius who walked passed her and motioned for them to follow. He took them to a bed near the other end of the Hospital Wing. He pulled the curtains back a bit for them to walk in.

Lily was laying on the bed with a bundle of blankets in her arms. James was sitting on the edge of the bed with tears in his eyes. Marlene, Dorcas, Peter, and Remus were all sitting and standing around the bed as well. Minerva walked over with a smile.

Lily smiled at her. "Minerva, meet little Harry James Potter."

Minerva took the baby from Lily and looked down at him. "Hello, Harry," she whispered to the small baby. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

Nina and Daniel walked over too to coo over the baby. Sirius brought over some chairs and Lucy sat down on the bed and looked at Lily. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Lucy. Thank you for asking," she said with a smile. "Just a little tired. Having a baby is hard work."

They passed the baby around until Lucy was the only one who had yet to hold him. Minerva walked closer to her and Lucy already knew what she was going to ask. Suddenly she felt really anxious. This was a new baby. A small, fragile, newborn baby. What if she dropped him? Or hurt him? Or did something stupid to him?

"Would you like to hold Harry, love?" Minerva asked.

"I... um..." Lucy mumbled, trying to think up an excuse.

Minerva smiled. "It'll be okay. Here, I'll show you how to hold the baby," she said. She guided Lucy's arms the way that Molly Weasley had when Lucy had held Ron. Minerva set the baby down in her arms and moved her hands around him. Eventually she let go and smiled. "See that's not too bad, is it?"

Lucy shook her head and looked down at Harry who had woken up now. She saw his bright green eyes and smiled a little. She looked over at Lily and said, "he has eyes like yours."

"Yeah, he definitely has his mother's eyes," James said with a smile, putting a hand on Lily's shoulder. Lily smiled.

"Hi, Harry," Lucy whispered. "I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you." She wasn't really sure why she was talking but everyone else who had held the baby did. She knew that he wouldn't understand anything or remember any of it but it didn't seem like everyone else knew that and she didn't want to be the one to tell them. "It's been a while. We were all waiting for you for a long time. I met another baby that's your age. Maybe you and he can be friends. His name is Ron."

Minerva smiled. She watched Lucy talk to Harry and then looked over at James. She gave him a smile and he smiled back. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," she said. "Congratulations James. I know that you and Lily will be wonderful parents. Harry is a very lucky young man."

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, August 25th 1998_**

"Did you hear about Caradoc's disappearance?" Dorcas asked Minerva quietly. They were sitting in a classroom and were supposed to be watching the Weasleys, Tonks, Lucy, and some other children while their parents took a little bit of a break.

Minerva closed her eyes and nodded solemnly. "I did," she whispered back. "Albus has been doing everything to try and find him but no one has seen him in a really long time. His sister is very worried."

"Do you think we'll find him?"

Minerva sighed. "I... I don't think so," she replied, looking away. "I don't think he's... I don't know."

Dorcas sighed. "First Benjy, now Caradoc. They don't even give us the courtesy of leaving a body for us to bury!" she exclaimed in a hushed angry voice. "And Moody loves to remind everyone how much of the body he was able to find."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Alastor has begun to become more and more... desensitized."

"I didn't even think that was possible until now," Dorcas mumbled. She sighed and shook her head. "What are we doing? It's gotten so much worse. It feels like they're systematically killing us off now! I haven't been able to talk to anyone without thinking, 'what if this person is the spy that is getting us all killed?'"

Minerva sighed. "I know. I wouldn't be surprised if that is _his_ plan," she muttered. "Destroy us from the inside by making us distrust each other."

"I'm glad you trust me," Dorcas said, looking over at Lucy who was playing with cards with Tonks, Charlie and Bill. "I'm excited for my new task."

Minerva smiled. "I'm glad you're excited," she said. "I thought you might be a little upset by this assignment. It's no chasing after Death Eaters and catching bad guys."

"No, it's not but I'm ready to take a less intense assignment after that last one," she mumbled with a shake of her head.

Minerva's smile faded away. She reached over and took Dorcas's hand. "I'm glad you're okay, Dorcas," she whispered. "When Albus told me what happened... I just... I'm just glad you're alright."

Dorcas gave a small smile. "Thank you for your concern. I'll be okay though," she said. "It was my fault really. I got overconfident. I should have paid more attention and then they would never have been able to get my wand away from me."

"It's not your fault, Dorcas," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "You can't blame yourself for what they did. It's not your fault."

She didn't respond for a long time. Finally when she did, she changed the subject. "Well, I'm really happy that you trust me enough to protect Lucy."

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile. "Honestly, of all the members you were my first choice. You are probably the strongest member we have and I know that you would do everything in your power to protect her."

Dorcas smiled. "I will," she said. "So, I'll probably Apparate to an alley a couple streets away and walk her to the school then hang out under James's Invisibility Cloak until the school day get out and then Apparate us back from the same Alley."

Minerva nodded approvingly. "That sounds perfect," she said. "Also... Remus will also be joining you."

Dorcas gave her a look. "Did you do that?"

"I merely mentioned to Albus that - oh no, Fred, George! No!" Minerva called, standing up from the desk she was sitting at quickly and running towards the door of the classroom where the twins were trying to get out. Dorcas smiled as she watched Minerva wrangle the two year olds away from the door and back into the playpen that they had managed to escape from. Minerva waved her wand and the fence around the playpen grew in height. Fred and George whined but Percy walked over and showed them some toys to help them calm down. Minerva smiled and thanked Percy, making the boy swell up with pride, before walking back to Dorcas.

"As I was saying," Minerva said, sitting back down. "I may have mentioned to Albus that you would be very bored at the school all alone and that he should assign someone to work with you. Assigning Remus was all his idea."

"I don't believe you," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "You can't expect me to believe that you had no hand in who he assigned."

Minerva smiled. "I'm hurt, Dorcas. What do you think of me?"

"It was quite a shock to learn that my strict, no fun teacher was actually like this," Dorcas said with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. Minerva gave her a look. She smiled. "You are very different outside the classroom."

"I don't think so," Minerva replied with a frown.

"Of course, you don't."

...

"Alright, everything is set," Dumbledore said. "You are now their Secret-Keeper, Minerva. This flat is the safest it can possibly be."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said.

They were standing in the sitting room of Nina's small Canterbury flat. Nina had told Lucy that it was small but she had never expected it to be this small. The door led through a narrow hallway with one door to a small bathroom, where the tub took up most of the space, to the kitchen, which had a fridge, microwave, stove and small two seat table pushed up against the back of the couch in the sitting room. The sitting room had one white couch, a black coffee table and a television stand. The stand had a shelf where it looked like Nina had stuffed all her books. There was large windows on one side of the sitting room which let in some natural lighting and a door that led to the bedroom on the other side. The bedroom only had room for Nina's queen bed and a small closet. There was a shelf above the head of the bed that Nina had put more books and a couple succulents on.

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course," he said. "Well, I should be off. I'll see you back at Hogwarts. Have a good year, Daniel, Nina."

"Thank you," Daniel said with a smile, walking towards the door of the flat with Dumbledore. "Thank you for everything."

"Yes," Nina said. "We are very grateful for everything you've done for us, sir."

Dumbledore smiled as he shook Daniel's hand. "Of course," he said again. "It was not a problem at all. I will see you all soon. Stay safe."

With that he said one last goodbye and left. Minerva sighed and sat down on the couch next to Lucy. She put an arm around Lucy and gave her a little squeeze. She knew that Lucy was feeling down because Daniel and Nina were leaving Hogwarts.

"I hope this is okay," Nina said, looking at Daniel a little embarrassed. "I know this is probably a lot smaller than anywhere you've ever stayed. I'll bet you've never even stayed in a hotel room this small."

Daniel walked over and smiled at her. He pulled her close to him and gave her a squeeze. "It's perfect, don't worry," he said, though he did already feel a little stuffy and hot. He didn't want Nina to worry however. "I don't need to stay somewhere huge with a bunch of empty rooms to be happy as long as I'm with you."

Lucy made a face. "You two are so sappy."

Minerva smiled. "Don't be mean," she told her daughter.

"I'm not being mean," Lucy replied. "I'm just telling the truth."

Daniel let go of Nina and walked over to the couch. He grabbed Lucy out of Minerva's arm and pulled her up before slamming her back down on the couch. Lucy laughed as he tickled her. "Stop! Daniel! Haha... no! Please!"

Nina laughed as she walked over too. She sat down on the floor in front of Minerva's legs and watched the siblings play fight. Minerva shook her head but smiled. She reached out and ran her fingers through Nina's hair. "Are you going to be alright, love?"

Nina smiled and leaned back on Minerva's legs. "Yes, I'll be fine," she said. "I'm glad we've found a way to come back to school. I really didn't want to take a year off."

"Yes, we have to keep life going as normal. It's why Hogwarts remains open as a school. We can't let them ruin our world like that," Minerva said quietly.

Nina nodded and sighed. She looked over at Daniel and Lucy, still making so much noise on the couch beside Minerva, and smiled. "I'm going to miss you guys though."

Minerva smiled. "We'll come visit as much as we can."

"Stooooppp!" Lucy screamed. "Please! Muuuuum!"

"Daniel, please stop," Minerva said with a frown. Shoving him off her a little bit. "Lucy stop yelling."

Daniel stopped tickling her. He pulled her off the couch and sat down. She glared at him before walking to sit down beside Nina. Nina smiled and pulled her into a hug. Lucy leaned her head on Nina's chest. She was really going to miss them. Both of them. Even if sometimes Daniel was annoying and even if sometimes Nina forced her into dresses. She wanted them to stay at Hogwarts with her but she knew that they needed to stay here so they could focus on their school.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, September 1st 1998_**

"Alright, darling," Minerva said, kneeling down in front of Lucy. She realized that this was the first time she was sending her daughter off to her first day of school. She had missed her very first first day of school so she may have been making up for it now. She put her hands on Lucy's shoulders. They were in her office. Lucy was already wearing her coat and backpack, ready to go. Remus and Dorcas were standing by the door waiting for them. "Have a good first day of school. Behave for your teachers and tell Anne I said hi."

"I will," Lucy said with a small smile.

"Dorcas and Remus will drop you off and pick you up," she said. "Do everything they say. I don't want any complaints from them, okay?"

"Okay."

Minerva gave Lucy a hug and kissed her cheek. "Goodbye, darling. Stay safe."

"Bye bye," Lucy said. Minerva stood up and Lucy turned to smile at Remus and Dorcas. Dorcas smiled and held out her hand for Lucy to take. Lucy did and they walked out of the office.

"We'll be okay, don't worry," Remus told Minerva with a smile.

"I know," she replied with a sigh though she still felt a little worried. She wished that she didn't have to send Lucy back to Rochester but she knew that Lucy wouldn't want to take a year off school. She had to let her go. Lucy would be fine. Dorcas and Remus would protect her.

Remus said a quick goodbye before running after Lucy and Dorcas. The three of them walked out of the castle and across the Hogwarts grounds until finally they made it out of the gate. Dorcas held Lucy's hand tightly and took Remus's as well. He Apparated the three of them to an alleyway in Rochester, a few blocks away from the school.

As they walked, Dorcas looked down at Lucy and said, "So, are you excited for your first day of school?"

Lucy shrugged. "I'm excited to see my friend Anne again," she said. "It's been so long! I missed her so much!"

Remus smiled. "How long have you known Anne?"

"Two years!" Lucy said. "We've known each other since I was five." She held up five fingers. "She's my best friend!"

"Ah, I thought I was your best friend," Dorcas said in a fake hurt voice, putting her hand on her heart. Lucy looked up at her with a worried look on her face and Dorcas laughed. "Don't worry, I'm only joking."

Lucy smiled. "You guys are my friends too."

"I'm glad to hear it," Remus said with a smile as Lucy took his hand too.

They made it to the school and saw a lot of children running around, saying hello to their friends that they hadn't seen in a long time, and goodbye to their parents for the day. Lucy saw Anne standing by the door waiting for her and waved. She turned to Dorcas and Remus to say goodbye.

"Wait," Dorcas said, opening her bag. She pulled out a camera. "Before you go, I want to take a quick picture of the three of us. It being the first time we drop you off and all."

Lucy laughed. "Okay."

Remus gave Dorcas a look but she ignored him. She asked a man walking by to take their picture and kneeled down next to Lucy, putting her arms around her and smiling a big smile. Remus stood behind them and smiled for the picture as well.

After they took their picture, they told Lucy to have a good day and waved goodbye as she ran towards her friend. Dorcas sighed as she watched her go.

"I hope that one day I get to do this for my own kid," she said with a smile as they started walking away to find a place they could hide and pull on the Invisibility Cloak.

"You'll send your kid to a Muggle school?" Remus asked.

"Of course," she said with a small smile. "Why would I deny them all the knowledge they could possibly learn?"

Remus smiled. "Of course."

They found a place to hide and Dorcas pulled out the Invisibility Cloak. She threw it over the both of them and they walked back to the school. They found a bench to sit down on and sat back to back so they could keep an eye out in every direction.

"Do you think we'll actually have to jump into action?" Remus asked.

Dorcas shrugged. "Don't know."

"Hopefully not."

"Hmm..." she said with a nod. "I took this assignment because I needed something where I would still be doing something meaningful while still taking a break from Death Eaters for a while."

Remus nodded. "I understand," he said. "I'm glad you're taking things easy for a little while."

She smiled. She and Remus talked for a while. Dorcas had been worried about this assignment, not because she thought she and Remus would have to protect Lucy from Death Eaters every few minutes but because she was worried how bored she would be in the seven hours she would have to sit in front of the school doing nothing. Sitting and talking with Remus though, made time pass so fast. She didn't feel bored at all. They talked about everything. Life, the war, plans for the future, funny stories from the passed.

Soon the school bell rang and the kids ran out to play during recess. Dorcas and Remus had to move off the bench in case one of the children tried to sit down on them. They moved further away so that they would still be able to talk without having to worry about someone overhearing them.

Dorcas watched Lucy run around with children almost double her age and height and smiled to herself. "Do you want kids, Remus?"

He watched the children run around for a second before sighing. "I would love to have children," he said. "But I don't think I'm going to."

"Why not?" Dorcas asked with a frown, looking over at her.

"Well, it would be much too dangerous for kids to be near me," he said.

"That's ridiculous," she said. "You are wonderful with children. I see the way you are with Lucy and the other children. You've been around them and they're perfectly safe."

He gave her a look. "If I had a son or daughter they would have to spend a lot more time with me than Lucy and the others at Hogwarts. I am much too dangerous, Dorcas."

"But... the person you had kids with would help you protect them, Remus," she said with a small smile. "You don't have to do everything alone, you know. You don't always have to do everything alone."

"You're one to talk," Remus said with a smirk. "The one who runs around trying to catch bad guys all on your own. Not slowing down for anyone. Refusing a partner. Last time we worked together you made me stay up for days on end! I'm surprised I'm even here at all. Did you not beg Dumbledore to let you do this alone too?"

She gave him a look. "You're an idiot," she said with a shake of her head. "I did not but now I think I should have."

He smiled. "So, you want kids. I know that."

She smiled a little bit. "I would love a little girl," she said. "I mean a boy would be fine too but I would love a baby girl I could dress up and teach everything I know. I would love her to be even a little bit like Lucy."

"Lucy is pretty special," he said with a smile. "A lot like McGonagall, I think."

"Definitely," Dorcas said with a laugh. "I would love a mini Dorcas."

"Oh no," Remus said with a laugh. "Like we need another Dorcas."

She gave him a little shove though she was smiling. She sighed and shook her head. "My daughter will be the most kickass little girl you will ever meet, Remus," she said. "She will be so smart and so kind and so brave."

"Just like her mother," he said quietly.

She looked at him and smiled. "Okay, I forgive you for your earlier comment now."

He smiled. Remus watched Dorcas turn back to look at the children and felt something in his chest. It felt like his heart was doing backflips. He looked at her beautiful caramel brown eyes, her big red lips, the tattoo behind her ear. He loved the way she pulled her hair over her left shoulder. The way it flowed from black to bright red. Minerva's words from a year ago ran around in his head. _She deserves someone who loves her and that's what you can give her, Remus._ Could he? Could he give her the love she deserved? Should he say something right now? No. He shouldn't. They were going to have to be together every day, standing this close together under the Invisibility Cloak. He shouldn't do something that would ruin their time together. _She loves you too. I know she does_. How could Minerva know? She might not. How could she love someone like him? She wanted children and he wouldn't be able to be the partner she needed in that. _She loves you despite what might happen every full moon. She can see past it and so should you._ Alright, Minerva really needed to get out of his head.

"Ah, Dorcas -"

"Oh no, look!"

Remus looked over to where Lucy and Anne were playing and saw another little girl with blonde hair push Lucy down to the ground. Anne had jumped up to help Lucy to her feet and was glaring at the blonde girl. "Maybe we should -"

"We can't," Dorcas said, glaring at the girl as she walked away with two of her friends leaving Anne and Lucy alone. Lucy looked fine. She wasn't crying. "Maybe I can talk to her about it after school."

"No, she doesn't know that we're watching her," Remus said. "Minerva thought it might scare her if she thought that she needed people watching to make sure Death Eaters don't show up. If you want to talk about it, you're going to need her to bring it up."

Dorcas sighed. "I hate bullies. Maybe we should talk to one of Lucy's teachers."

"It'll be okay," Remus said with a small smile. He liked the way she got overprotective of this little girl. He knew that she would make a good mom one day and that only made him love her even more. "Lucy will be fine."

"I know," Dorcas said with a sigh. She looked back at him. "Anyways, you were about to say something?"

"Oh, yeah... I don't remember what I was going to say..."

She smiled. "Alright then."

Soon recess was over and the kids went back inside. Dorcas and Remus walked back to their bench and sat down again. Remus had completely given up on saying anything about his feelings. Right now wasn't the time. He needed to wait for a better time. They started talking again and soon the conversation turned to Sirius and Marlene's relationship.

"So, what are they doing?" Dorcas asked.

"To be completely honest, I don't know," Remus replied with a sigh. "He really likes her. I know that he does."

"And I know that she really likes him too," she replied.

"So I don't know what they're doing," he said. "They're together and then they're not and then they are again and then they're not again. I can't keep up."

"Are they together now? I haven't seen them in a while."

"They are," Remus said. "They broke up awhile ago and then used that prank war with the kids to get back at each other but then after Benjy died they got back together again."

Dorcas shook her head. "I don't understand that. I don't think I'd want to be with someone if we were always going back and forth like that."

"I think that it's the pressure of the war," Remus said. "I'm sure when the war is over they'll be in a better place to figure out what they want."

Dorcas nodded. "Yes, I think so. Now's not really the best time to figure stuff like that out. We can't all be as sure about life as James and Lily are," she mumbled. "But then again, what can I say. I've never had any serious relationships. Maybe I just can't appreciate how they must feel when they're actually together. It must be great to have someone to talk to, to lean on, to... I don't know, do relationship-y stuff with. I just have never experienced it so I wouldn't know."

"Yeah, I get it," Remus said. "I haven't either."

Dorcas smiled. She looked over at Remus and said, "My mother used to say, ' _Bandar kya jaane adarak ka swaad_ '. It's an Indian proverb that means 'what does a monkey know of the taste of ginger?'"

Remus looked at her and smiled.

"Meaning," she said, "someone who can't understand can't appreciate. Which I guess is us, not understanding Sirius and Marlene's relationship."

Remus smiled. "We're just a pair of monkeys."

She smiled. The rest of the day went by and eventually it was almost time for Lucy to get off of school. Remus and Dorcas decided to take off the Invisibility Cloak and walk around to the front of the school before Lucy came out. The bell rang and slowly children started running out towards their parents. Dorcas saw the little girl who had pushed Lucy and her mother a little ways away.

"Maybe I should go talk to that girl's mother," she said, looking over at Remus. "About what she did to Lucy."

Remus looked over and shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Dorcas."

"I don't -"

"Hey!"

Dorcas looked over to see Lucy running towards them. Anne was running behind her. Dorcas smiled at the girl. "Hey, Lucy! How was your day at school?"

"Eh," she said, stopping in front of Dorcas and Remus. "This is my friend, Anne. Anne, these are my friends, Dorcas and Remus."

"Hello, Anne," Remus said with a smile.

"Hello," Dorcas said.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you. Lucy says you guys are staying over with her and her family," Anne said.

"Yes," Dorcas said with a nod. "How was your first day of school, Anne? Anything... interesting happen?"

"It was pretty good," Anne said. "We're in the same homeroom class so that's awesome. Hopefully this year will be fun."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Better than last year."

Anne nodded. She looked over at the parking lot and saw her mother's car pull in. "Oh, there's my mum. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucy! It was nice to meet you Dorcas, Remus."

They said goodbye and Anne ran off. Lucy took Dorcas's hand and they started walking back towards the alleyway that they had Apparated to this morning.

"So nothing interesting happened today?" Dorcas asked, looking down at Lucy.

Lucy shrugged. "Not really," she said. "Oh, during recess Anne and I played on the monkey bars. That was fun."

"That sounds nice," Remus said, giving Dorcas a look.

"Did anything else happen during recess?" Dorcas asked frowning a little and ignoring Remus.

"No, not really," Lucy said. "Oh, I also got a book new book from the library. It's about a witch! I think Mum will find it funny."

Remus laughed but Dorcas was still frowning. They made it to the alleyway and Remus Apparated them back to Hogwarts. They walked through the gates, after quite a bit of scrutiny from Alastor Moody who was guarding the entrance, and up to the castle. Dorcas and Remus walked Lucy up to Minerva's office and knocked on the door. Minerva's voice came through the door, inviting them in. Lucy opened the door and ran to her mother.

"Hey!"

Minerva smiled. "Hello, darling," she said as Lucy walked around the desk and hugged her. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into her lap. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," she said.

Minerva looked up at Remus and Dorcas. "Thank you both for everything."

"Of course," Dorcas said, debating on whether or not she should tell Minerva about what they saw. She decided against it to Remus's relief.

"Yeah, we'll get out of your hair," Remus said with a smile. "We'll see you both at dinner. Bye Lucy."

"Bye Remus! Bye Dorcas!" Lucy said.

Remus and Dorcas walked out of the office and closed the door behind them. They walked in silence for a little while before Dorcas finally burst.

"No, this is not okay. I'm going back to tell Minerva what happened," Dorcas said, turning on her heel.

Remus grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her back. "Nope, nope," he said as she struggled against his grasp. "How do you think Lucy would like that? If that was you would you be very happy with someone telling your mother about it? Wouldn't you rather deal with it on your own?"

"Yes but -"

"Lucy may be like Minerva but she's also like you," Remus said, still gripping her shoulders and guiding her down the stairs. "She will want to try to deal with this on her own first."

"She's already had problems, Remus," Dorcas said. "When she first came here and I talked to her, she told me that someone told her that she had dirty skin! She wouldn't tell me where she heard that but... I... I just want to help her."

"I know," Remus said with a sigh. "I know but you have to let her come to us. We're still going to be watching. If it continues and she still doesn't say anything, then we'll say something to her or to Minerva or to one of her teachers."

Dorcs thought about this for a second before nodding. "Alright," she said finally. "That's a good idea."

Remus smiled and let go of her shoulders. "You sound like you're her mother."

"You sound like you're her father," she retorted with a smile.

...

Later that night the rest of the Hogwarts students arrived for the Start-of-Term Feast. Minerva had to sit at the teacher's table so Lucy sat with Tonks and her family. Remus wasn't at dinner as he was having dinner with his father, Lily and James were back in London with their baby, Sirius was having dinner with Marlene at the McKinnon safe house, and who knew where Peter was, so Dorcas was sitting alone. She looked over at Lucy every so often, still a little worried about her, but she was completely fine. She was laughing and having fun with Tonks. Eventually Dorcas let it go. Lucy seemed happy and fine so who was she to ruin that.

Lucy was very excited to see the Sorting Ceremony. She watched as her mother led a group of students towards the front of the hall, carrying a stool, a hat, and a scroll. Minerva set the stool on the stage and the hat on top of the stool. Lucy watched in amazement as the hat came to life and started to sing! It described the four Hogwarts houses. There was Gryffindor that valued bravery and courage, Slytherin that valued ambition and resourcefulness, Ravenclaw that valued knowledge and wisdom, and Hufflepuff that valued loyalty and kindness. One by one, Minerva read the names off the scroll and children walked to the front, sat down and put on the hat. After a varied amount of time the hat would shout out his house decision. After the Sorting Ceremony Minerva sat down, Dumbledore gave a speech and food appeared.

She ate and talked with Tonks, Mrs. and Mr. Tonks for a while before seeing Dorcas sitting on her own at the other end of the table. She excused herself and walked over to her. Dorcas smiled at her as she sat down. She talked to Dorcas and told her all about her day, leaving out her little playground scrap. Dorcas noticed this but didn't say anything. She and Lucy talked for a while before students started getting up to go to bed. Minerva came over to take Lucy to bed as well. Lucy said a quick goodnight before being dragged from the Great Hall by her mother. Dorcas smiled as she watched them go.


	16. TLT -- 16

**_Friday, October 23rd 1998_**

"So, do you like anyone, Remus?" Dorcas asked with a childish smile. It was almost time for Lucy to get off school so they were standing by the front door waiting for her as usual. Other parents were standing nearby or sitting in their cars waiting in the parking lot. It was raining so Dorcas and Remus were standing close together under a black umbrella. "Anyone you're just madly in love with like Sirius and Marlene?"

Remus gave her a look but she persisted. Nudging him with her elbow and giving him a stupid smile. He sighed and nodded his head slowly. "Ah... there is... there is someone."

"Oh?" Dorcas said, a sinking feeling in her chest. She didn't know why she had asked the question if any answer would have hurt her. "Who?"

"A great girl."

"You're not going to tell me."

"Nope," he said with a small smile. "I haven't even told her yet. I can't tell anyone else first."

"Oh, but I wouldn't tell her," Dorcas said with a smile.

"Sorry, can't."

"Do I know her?"

"Yes."

"It's Minerva isn't it. You're secretly in love with your old Transfigurations Professor aren't you?" she said dramatically. He laughed and shoved her slightly. She laughed too and shook her head. "So, really? You're not going to tell me."

"Nope," he said. "What about you? Do you like anyone?"

Dorcas was silent for a long time before she smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah... yeah, I do," she said. Then suddenly her smile faded away and she sighed. "But he's in love with someone else. Not me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Remus said.

"It's not your fault."

Remus sighed. He was glad he hadn't told her that he was in love with her. She was in love with someone else. Probably someone who deserved her more than he did. Someone who didn't put her in danger just by being near her.

"I'm still sorry," he said. He thought for a moment before, very awkwardly at first, putting his arm around her shoulder. Once it was there it felt right. She smiled and put her arm around his waist. It felt like they just fit together like two puzzle pieces. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he leaned his head on hers.

"I guess we're just... the perfect match," she whispered.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile.

They waited in comfortable silence for a while longer until finally the school bell rang and kids began filing out. The rain had gotten harder so children were scurrying around quickly, trying to get somewhere dry. Lucy ran out the front door after a little while and over to them.

"Hi!" she said, hair already frizzing up a little bit.

"Hey, Lucy!" Dorcas said with a smile, pulling away from Remus and sticking out her hand for Lucy to take. Lucy took it and came under the umbrella too. "How was your day?"

"It was good!" she said. "We got to play in the rain during recess! It was really fun but I fell into a puddle so my skirt is all muddy and stained. Mum's not going to be very happy."

"You fell?" Dorcas said, knowing full well that this wasn't the case. She knew Lucy was lying. The same girl who had pushed her the first day of school had done the same today too. The blond girl had thought it was hilarious when Lucy got up out of the puddle soaking wet and covered in mud.

"Yeah," Lucy said, not looking up at her.

Remus gave Dorcas a look so she dropped the topic. They walked away from the school and to their alleyway where they Apparated back to Hogwarts. They walked across the wet, muddy grounds and up to Minerva's office to drop Lucy off.

"Okay, love," Dorcas said as they stood in front of Minerva's office door. "Your mum said that she had a meeting so you can go inside and get changed and then go down to Classroom 3C to play with your friends before they leave for the weekend."

Lucy nodded.

"She said to tell you to behave but I don't think we have to tell you that," Remus said with a smile. "You're a good kid." Lucy smiled. "She said that she would see you at dinner."

"Okay," Lucy said. Suddenly her smile faded and she sighed. "You guys aren't going to be at dinner."

Remus smiled a little. "Yeah, sorry, kid. We're going on a mission so we have to leave right away but we'll see you Monday morning as usual."

"Yeah," Dorcas said, tousling Lucy's hair. "We'll be back in no time."

"Okay," Lucy said. "Stay safe."

"Of course," Dorcas said with a smile.

They said their goodbyes and Lucy disappeared into Minerva's office. Remus and Dorcas walked away towards the moving staircases. Dorcas gave Remus a look. "That's the third time she's pushed Lucy in the last two months and who knows what she's saying to Lucy that we can't hear!"

"Lucy still hasn't -"

"I'm beginning to think she's never going to say anything, Remus," Dorcas said. "We should talk to... someone about it. If you don't want to talk to Minerva, then maybe we could talk to one of her teachers and just ask them to, you know, keep a closer eye on the girls."

Remus thought about this before nodding. "Okay, we'll talk to them next week but we have to make sure they don't let Lucy know we told them."

Dorcas nodded.

...

Lucy was laying on her stomach on the floor of Minerva's office singing quietly and drawing in her notebook while Minerva got caught up on some marking. The fire was roaring in the fireplace, warming Lucy up a bit, and the rain was pattering on the window. Lucy was drawing a picture of herself, Remus and Dorcas standing in front of her school. She was a little sad because Remus and Dorcas were off on a mission this weekend, the Weasleys were spending the weekend in Hogsmeade, and the Tonks were off visiting Ted's parents, so she was alone. She hadn't seen James and Lily since they left for London and Sirius and Marlene came around very sporadically so she had no idea if they were going to be around.

She missed Daniel and Nina and Uncle Raj. Minerva had been very busy so they hadn't gotten a chance to visit them in Canterbury yet since the semester started and Uncle Raj hadn't come up to Hogwarts in a while. They had all written earlier today to see how she was and she had written a response but it didn't feel like enough. She wished that she could at least talk to them on the phone but there wasn't a phone anywhere in Hogwarts.

Lucy sighed. She put down her coloured pencil and turned over on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Minerva looked up from her desk and smiled. "Alright?"

"I'm bored," she mumbled.

"Well, did you finish your drawing?"

"Yes," she mumbled, sitting up and looking over at the picture. She picked up her coloured pencils and put them away in the box before picking up the drawing and walking over to her mother's desk. "Do you want to see it?"

"Sure," Minerva said with a smile. Lucy walked around the desk and held the drawing out for her. She took it and smiled. "Wow, Lucy, this is very nice. Are you going to show Remus and Dorcas?"

Lucy shrugged as she walked back around the desk and pushed a chair closer to it. She sat down and put her head down on her arms, looking out the window.

"You should," Minerva said, sliding the drawing across the desk towards her daughter. "I think they'll really like it."

"Hmm..."

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

She shrugged again.

"Lonely?" Minerva asked. Lucy didn't respond. "Don't worry, darling. It's just today and tomorrow and then everyone will be back."

"When can we see Daniel and Nina?" Lucy asked, turning her head to look up at Minerva.

Minerva sighed. "Maybe we'll be able to go next weekend, darling," she said, though she wasn't sure if that was going to be possible either. "I know it's been a long time and that you miss them. I miss them too but right now I've been really busy and leaving Hogwarts just isn't feasible. You know what feasible means right?"

Lucy furrowed her brow. "Yes," she said. "Of course I do."

Minerva smiled. "Right, so you understand why we can't go this weekend?"

"I guess," she mumbled, looking back out the window. "They said that they were okay. Said that they were planning to go to a Halloween party at Nina's friend's house next weekend."

"That's nice," Minerva said. "They're coming back to Hogwarts after their semester and exams finish for sure and you'll be able to see them everyday then."

Lucy nodded. She was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Lucy looked up and slid off her chair. She walked over to the door and opened it. Upon seeing who it was, a huge smile spread across her face. "Aunty Amelia!"

Amelia smiled. "Hello, Lucy," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she said, moving to the side so that Amelia could come inside. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, love. Thank you," Amelia replied, closing the door behind her. She looked over at Minerva and smiled. "Hello, Minerva."

"Hello," Minerva said with a smile. "You seem to be in quite a good mood today?"

"I am," she said, walking over and sitting down in a chair in front of the desk. "I just found out that an Auror raid resulted in the arrest of twenty three Death Eaters. No one was hurt and everything went smoothly."

"That is good news," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy walked over to sit back down in her chair. Amelia looked over and gave her a smile. She saw the drawing on the desk and picked it up. "Oh did you draw this? It's very good."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a small smile. She moved closer and pointed at the figures on the page. "That's me and that's Dorcas and that's Remus and we're in front of my school because they're dropping me off like they do everyday."

"That's excellent." Amelia said with a smile. She set the drawing back down in front of Lucy. "So, how is school going, love?

She shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "I get to see Anne which is good."

"That's nice," Amelia said.

"So, how are things in the Law Department, Amelia?" Minerva asked, putting her quill down and leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, you know how it is, Minerva. All these arrests need to be processed and trials conducted," she replied with a sigh. "We can't be letting our systems lax, especially during such times."

"Due process," Lucy said quietly, looking down at her drawing.

Amelia smiled. "Exactly," she said, looking over at her. "You've been reading the books I've given you."

Lucy looked up and nodded with a small smile. Minerva smiled too. "So, how many trials do you have scheduled for this week?"

Amelia shook her head and sighed again. "I've got five just on Monday."

"Aunty Amelia, are wizarding trails open to the public like trails in the Muggle world?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, yes, they are," Amelia said with a frown.

Lucy looked over at Minerva but before she could say anything Minerva shook her head. "No, Lucy," she said with a frown. "We will not be going to any of Amelia's trials."

"Why not?" Lucy asked. "It would be so cool to see how it actually works and how the lawyers work and -"

"No," Minerva said firmly.

"Lucy, these trials are not very fun," Amelia said with a small smile. "They take hours and they are quite boring. You wouldn't like sitting in those uncomfortable chairs for hours."

Lucy sighed and crossed her arms. She leaned back in her chair. Her bad day was getting worse and worse. Minerva rolled her eyes at her and looked at Amelia. "Lucy's been grumpy all day. She's lonely."

"Lonely? Why?" Amelia asked, looking down at the little girl.

"I'm not grumpy," Lucy grumbled. "Or lonely."

"Oh?"

Minerva smiled. "Everyone is away weekend. The Tonkses are visiting Ted's parents, the Weasleys are taking the kids to Hogsmeade, Dorcas and Remus are off on a mission, I don't think Sirius and Marlene are coming by anytime soon, Raj couldn't come down, and we couldn't go out to see Daniel and Nina this weekend."

"Oh, poor Lucy," Amelia said with a laugh. Lucy furrowed her brow. Amelia smiled, reached over and tousled Lucy's hair. "It's okay, love." She turned back to Minerva. "So, what about you? Very busy, I hear."

"Oh, yes. The semester is in full swing now so I have all this marking, assignments and test, and students to deal with on top of everything else," Minerva muttered.

Amelia nodded. She looked over at Lucy who was still looking a little upset. "Well, Lucy, why don't we leave your mother to do her work and we can go do something else?"

Lucy smiled and uncrossed her arms. "Okay!"

Amelia stood up and Lucy hopped off her chair. Minerva smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to Amelia as she walked away. Amelia smiled and nodded. She took Lucy's hand and they walked out of the office.

"So, where should we go today?" Amelia asked. Lucy shrugged. "Well, have you seen any of the common rooms yet? I could show you the Hufflepuff one. That was my house."

"Okay!" Lucy said. "The Sorting Hat said that Hufflepuff values loyalty and kindness."

"Yes, that's true," she replied with a smile. "Two very good characteristics, I would say. What do you think?"

"Yeah!" Lucy said with a smile.

"You know, kindness can get you a lot of things in life," Amelia said. "Everyone will tell you about bravery, ambition, and knowledge and those things are definitely important, love, but people seem to forget the power of kindness."

Lucy looked up at her and cocked her head to one side. "Really?"

"Yes," she replied with a small smile. "Kindness is the best way to get through the toughest trials you will face in your life. When you are kind you will find that life becomes a lot easier and a lot more beautiful."

"Hmm," Lucy said thoughtfully. "But what about if you try to be nice to people but they're still mean back to you. I try to be nice to them but they're still so mean."

Amelia looked down at her and sighed. "Not many people know the power of being kind, my love, and those people may not be as kind to you as you are to them but you must stay strong and be kind anyway because at the end of the day it's up to you to choose how you want to live your life and a life without kindness is a very sad life."

Lucy nodded. "My daddy was always nice to everyone," she said quietly. "He said that there are two ways to the top. You can either step on everyone else which is faster or you can be nice which takes more time. If you choose to be nice then you will find that you have a lot of friends when you reach the top and your life will become a lot easier."

"Your daddy is right," she said with a smile.

"You knew him, right?" Lucy asked.

"I did know him," Amelia replied. "He was a very smart and kind man. Maybe he would have been in Hufflepuff."

Lucy smiled. "Mum says he would have been in Gryffindor."

"Of course she does," she said with a laugh. Amelia shook her head though she smiled. "Your mother thinks that Gryffindor is the best because she was in Gryffindor but it's actually Hufflepuff that's the best house."

Lucy laughed. "You think so because you were in Hufflepuff."

"That might be true," Amelia replied with a smile. "You know what you should do? You should ask your mother about the November 1966 Quidditch game."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile.

Finally they made it in front of a stack of barrels a little ways away from the kitchen. Amelia let go of Lucy's hand and walked towards the barrels. On the barrel in the middle of the second row, two from the bottom, Amelia tapped a specific pattern. When she was done the barrels shook and moved to one side revealing a tunnel. Lucy followed Amelia through it.

On the other end of the tunnel was a round welcoming room with yellow and black sofas and armchairs. The room felt warm and sunny even though Lucy knew that it was rainy and miserable outside. There was a large wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it. Above the fireplace was a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff, the house's founder. The room had low ceilings and small circular windows that provided a view of grass and dandelions swaying in the wind. The room was full of different plants that Lucy had never seen before. Green vines climbed up the walls, flowery plants hung from the ceiling, and tall ferns sat in the corner. There were students sitting around talking to their friends, doing homework.

"Wow," Lucy said.

"The dorm rooms are through there," Amelia said, pointing to two circular honey coloured wooden doors. "And over here is the bulletin board where you can find out what's going on. Oh, hello, Professor Sprout."

Sprout had been standing by the bulletin board hanging up a sign up sheet for students staying over the Christmas holidays. She looked over at Amelia and Lucy and smiled.

"Well, hello, Amelia. How are you, dear?" she said, walking over to the two girls.

"I'm good," Amelia said. "I'm sure you've met Miss Lucy Collins, here."

"Not formally, no. Hello, Lucy, I'm Professor Sprout. I teach Herbology," she said, sticking her hand out for Lucy to shake.

"Hello, Professor Sprout," Lucy said, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you. You teach Herbology? That sounds pretty cool. What exactly do you do in that class?"

"Oh, I teach students how to care for and utilise different plants," Sprout replied.

"Oh, like botany," Lucy said making Amelia smile.

"Yes, kind of but we also talk about plants that the Muggles don't really know about," Sprout said with a smile. "We talk about their magical properties and what they are used for. Some magical plants have magical properties in their own right, others are used in potions or even in Muggle medicines."

"That's cool," Lucy said. "What's your favourite plant?"

"Oh, that's a hard question," Sprout said with a laugh. "It's hard to chose one. Hmm... one plant I really like is called Devil's Snare. It's is a plant with the magical ability to constrict or strangle anything in its surrounding environment or something that happens to touch it."

"So it moves?"

"It grabs anything close by," Amelia said, leaning down and grabbing Lucy by the stomach. She pulled her close and tickled her, making Lucy laugh and squirm around.

Sprout smiled. "Yes, struggling or resisting the Devil's Snare's grasp will only cause the plant to exert a greater force of constriction."

"Wow..." Lucy said, thoughtfully after getting free of Amelia's hold. "So how do you get out of it if you get trapped?"

"You can use light to push it back," Sprout replied. "It will move back to get out of the light."

"Wow," Lucy said again. "That's cool."

Lucy and Amelia talked with Sprout for a while before Amelia decided that it was probably time to get Lucy back to Minerva's office. She walked them back to Gryffindor tower and dropped her off. Lucy thanked her for taking her out and Minerva thanked her taking Lucy out of her hair for a little bit while she worked. Amelia just smiled and told her that it was not a problem before saying her goodbyes and leaving.

Minerva took Lucy in her private quarters and they sat down on the couch together. Lucy told Minerva about what she and Amelia did. She told her mother about the Hufflepuff common room and what Amelia had told her about kindness. Minerva agreed with everything that Amelia had said except for the part about Hufflepuff being the best.

"That's ridiculous," Minerva said with a smile and a shake of her head. She had her arms around Lucy and Lucy was resting her head on Minerva's chest. "Hufflepuff being the best... everyone knows that Gryffindor is the best house at Hogwarts."

Lucy giggled. "Oh! Aunty Amelia told me that if you said that, I should ask you about the November 1966 quidditch game."

Minerva frowned. "She did, did she?"

Lucy looked up at her mother and smiled. "What happened?"

"It was my and Amelia's sixth year and we were both Quidditch captains," Minerva muttered, looking off into the distance and shaking her head. "Me of Gryffindor and she of Hufflepuff, of course. We had always been very competitive. Her mostly, I would say." Lucy gave her a look. "Okay, me too, I suppose." Lucy laughed. "Anyways, we were facing off and Hufflepuff won because she was playing dirty."

"Really?" Lucy said with a giggle. "But I thought Hufflepuff valued fair play."

"Okay, maybe she wasn't playing dirty..." said Minerva with a small smile, 'but she was still doing something."

"Playing better?"

Minerva gave Lucy a look making Lucy laugh. "No... well, it doesn't matter. We still won the Quidditch cup that year so you can tell her that she can -" she stopped herself before she said something very inappropriate. She finished instead by saying, "stop bringing it up."

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "You guys are very good friends."

"We are," Minerva said with a smile.

* * *

 ** _Monday, October 26th 1998_**

"Ready for school?" Dorcas asked with a smile as she and Remus walked into Minerva's office that morning to pick Lucy up for school.

"Yep," Lucy said. She had her backpack on her back and holding a piece of paper in her hand. She gave Minerva a quick one arm hug. "Bye, _Ami_."

"Goodbye, darling," Minerva said with a smile, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

Lucy ran to the door, gave her mother one last wave before ducking out. Dorcas and Remus walked with her down the stairs towards the Entrance Hall. As they walked, Lucy held her drawing out to Remus. "I drew this of us in front of my school," she said with a smile. "You can have it."

Remus smiled and took it. "Wow, Lucy, this is great! Dorcas look," he said, turning it around for her to see. "She even put the red in your hair."

"Wow, that looks awesome! I'm a little jealous that you gave it to Remus and not me," Dorcas said with a laugh.

"Sorry," Lucy said looking up at her, feeling a little bad. She should have brought her a drawing too. "I can draw you something too if you want."

"I would love that," Dorcas said with a smile.

"So, Lucy," Remus said, folding up the drawing and putting it in his pocket next to his wallet. They walked out of the castle and across the grounds. "Anything exciting happening at school today?"

"Yes, actually! This girl named Kate, she's kind of mean, but she's leaving! She's moving away so she won't be school anymore," Lucy said happily. She had been waiting for this day a very long time. "She used to pick on me and push me around and I broke her nose once but she's gone now so school will probably be more fun now."

"Really?" Dorcas said. "How come you never told us about this girl? If someone was being mean to you and pushing you around, you should tell us or your mum. We can help you."

Lucy shrugged. "I didn't want you guys to worry. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

"You don't have to handle it. You should get help for those kinds of things, especially if she pushes you. Violence is very serious," Dorcas replied with a frown. "You should tell us about stuff like that from now on, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said.

"Um, so are we just going to ignore the fact that she just said she broke this girl's nose?" Remus asked as they walked out of the school gate. He gave Moody a wave before pulling out his wand and Apparating the three of them to Rochester.

"No, I want to hear about this," Dorcas said with a smile after they appeared in their alleyway in Rochester. She looked down at Lucy with a raised eyebrow. "When did you break her nose?"

Lucy smiled a little bit and told them about her last day of ballet when Kate had said something about her mother and father and ripped her father's book so Lucy had attacked her. Lucy had punched her as hard as she could in the nose and broke it. She got kicked out of ballet school because of it but, thanks to Nina, so did Kate for bullying. She told them about how Kate had been pretty scared of her for a while after that but how eventually she got over it and was mean to Lucy again. Since Lucy never really did anything back, Kate kept insulting her and even pushed her a couple times.

"It's how I ruined my skirt on Friday," she said with a sigh. "I didn't fall. Sorry for lying."

"It's okay, Lucy," Dorcas said with a small smile. She shook her head and laughed. "I can't believe you broke that girl's nose."

"I can't believe that all you got from Minerva was a 'violence is bad' speech," Remus said with a laugh.

"It sounded like a pretty awesome punch," Dorcas said with a smirk, making Lucy smile.

"Violence is very serious, Dorcas, remember?" Remus said, raising his eyebrow at her.

Dorcas rolled her eyes but smiled. "It is. No more awesome punches, Lucy, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said with a laugh.

"God forbid anyone try to take chocolate out of your hands," Remus said with a laugh after Dorcas told him a story of her almost wrestling a pregnant Lily over chocolate.

She gave him a shove. "You're trapped under this cloak with me, Remus, so I'd watch it." He laughed and shook his head. " _Paani me rahkar magar se bair_."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"You can't live in the water and be the enemy of the crocodile," Dorcas said with a smile.

He laughed. "So you're a crocodile now?"

"Well, I am just as vicious and dangerous," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, sure."

"I am!"

"Whatever you say," he replied with a smile.

She rolled her eyes. "You, Remus John Lupin, are a -"

She was cut off by the school bell going off, letting the students off for recess. He smiled and she shook her head. "Saved by the bell, Remus."

He laughed before grabbing her by the hand and dragging her further away from the school so they could keep talking without being overheard.

...

"Mum!"

Minerva looked up from her desk to see Lucy running into her office carrying a very large book. She was just getting home from school. Dorcas and Remus came in after her. Minerva smiled. "Hello, darling. Looks like you had a good day at school."

"Oh, just wait," Dorcas said with a small smile as Lucy pushed her big book onto the desk.

Minerva looked at it and saw that it was a book on World War II. Remus saw Minerva's expression change and smiled. "Alright, well, we'll see you tomorrow, Lucy, Minerva."

"Bye, Remus! Bye, Dorcas!" Lucy said as she climbed up onto the chair and shuffling through the pages of her book. She hadn't even taken off her backpack or coat yet.

"Goodbye, Remus, Dorcas," Minerva said, watching Lucy closely. When Dorcas and Remus were gone, Minerva said, "What do you have there?"

"A book on World War II," Lucy replied happily. "Mum, do you know Peggy Carter?"

"I do," she replied. "I've met her."

Lucy's jaw dropped. She stopped flipping through the pages of her book and looked up at her mother with an expression of shock on her face. "Really?!"

"Yes, before you were born. Your father used to work with her."

"Really! Daddy used to work with her? That's so cool!" Lucy exclaimed. "Can I meet her too? I want to ask her so many questions! She's so cool! Mum! Mum, can I meet her?"

"I - well, I'm not in contact with her at present," Minerva said a little taken aback by Lucy's enthusiasm. "I only met her twice."

"You're not... oh," Lucy mumbled, looking very disappointed.

"How do you know Peggy Carter?" Minerva asked.

"Today at school we talked about World War II and Captain America and my teacher talked a little bit about Peggy Carter and I thought she sounded cool so I looked her up in the library and she's so cool!" Lucy said, excitement coming back.

Minerva smiled. "Ah, so that's why you have this giant book."

Lucy nodded. "This was the only book I found that had a big section about her. All the others only had a page or a paragraph," she said. Suddenly she frowned. "Why aren't they talking about her as much as they talk about Captain America? She's like the girl version of him and she was on the Howling Commandos."

"I don't know," Minerva said with a sigh. "Well, what did you learn about her?"

Lucy smiled again. "She's so cool! She was the first female agent with the Special Operations Executive. This war division spearheaded by Winston Churchill himself during World War II. She trained soldiers and was the only female Howling Commando. She worked with Captain America and then after the war transferred to the American version of the SOE, the SSR. She was the first female SSR agent! Those agencies don't exist anymore but it's still super cool! She was a spy! She's like a real world Wonder Woman!"

"Wow," Minerva said with a smile. "So I'm guess you spent your whole break in the library."

"Maybe..." Lucy said with a laugh. "I got permission from my teacher. It's okay."

"That's good."

"So, anyways, we have to write an essay on our hero," Lucy said. "And I'm going to write on her so I had to find as much information as I could."

"Oh, I see," Minerva said. "Who is Anne writing on?"

"Her mum," Lucy said, looking down at her book, apparently done with this conversation.

"Ah, I see," Minerva mumbled, suddenly in a bad mood. "Well, you have a few hours until dinner. Why don't you get your homework done."

"I already did it!" Lucy said with a smile. "Can I go see Tonks, Bill and Charlie? I want to tell them about Peggy Carter too!"

Minerva sighed and nodded.

"Yay! See you later, Mum!" she said, taking off her coat and bag and running from the room.

"Bye, Lucy."

* * *

 ** _Saturday, November 7th 1998_**

"The castle is so cool, isn't Uncle Raj?" Lucy asked. She, Raj and Minerva were walking through the Hogwarts corridors. Raj had finally come down for a visit after so long and was excited to get a tour of the castle from Minerva. Lucy was excited too. There were still a lot of the castle she had yet to see and she wanted to see everything.

"It is very cool, Princess," Raj said with a smile.

Minerva smiled. "Yes, I love Hogwarts."

"Me too," Lucy said decidedly. "It's awesome! Moving pictures and moving staircases and ghosts! It's such an awesome school! I wish my school was like it."

"Well, when you're old enough, you can come to school here," Minerva replied. She honestly couldn't wait to have Lucy coming to classes. She was sure that Lucy would do so well in her transfigurations classes.

"Then you'll probably get a wand too, right?" Raj asked.

"Yes, she would get a wand and school robes and potions supplies and everything," Minerva said with a smile.

"And I'm going to be a Gryffindor too!"

"Of course," Minerva said with a laugh. "No matter what your Aunty Amelia says, Gryffindor is definitely the best house."

"I feel like I might be in Gryffindor," Raj said.

"I think you would be as well," Minerva said with a smile. "Let Amelia know that."

"She won't be very happy, I'm sure," Raj said with a laugh. "Oh, hey, Lucy. Remember when I said you were a real princess and you said you weren't because real princess live in castles? Well, look. Now you live in a castle."

Lucy laughed. "I still don't think I'm a real princess."

"And why not?" Raj asked.

Lucy shrugged and Minerva smiled and shook her head. "I think that maybe real princess have royal blood. If Lucy's a princess, am I a queen?"

"Well, of course," Raj said with a laugh. "You are the queen of this castle, aren't you?"

"I don't know about that," Minerva said.

"Mum is Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Lucy said importantly. "Head of Gryffindor House and Transfigurations Mistress."

"Wow," Raj said, looking over at Minerva. "Are you training her?"

"No, of course -"

"Oh! Order of Merlin, First Class," Lucy added quickly, remembering one last title she had missed. "I don't know what that one means though..."

Minerva's smile faded. "Where did you hear that?"

"I read it," she said. "In the article they wrote about you in some magazine on your desk. It was called _Transfigurations Today_."

"Wow," Raj said. "I think you're as famous here in the Wizarding World as Jay was in the Muggle World."

"Daddy's famous here too," Lucy said. "A lot of people know about him and Collins Enterprises."

"Really?"

"Well, the Wizarding World is inside the Muggle World, Raj," Minerva said with a small smile. "Also, a lot of wizards and witches start in the Muggle World."

"Right, I see," he said.

"So, what is an Order of Merlin, First Class?" Lucy asked. "Uncle Albus has one too. I read it on his Chocolate Frog card."

"It's an award given to wizards and witches who have done some good in our world," Minerva said. "There are three classes. First Class is given to people who have performed 'acts of outstanding bravery or distinction', Second Class to those who have 'achievement or endeavour beyond the ordinary', and Third Class to those who 'have made a contribution to our store of knowledge or entertainment'. I actually have both First and Third Class. I got Third Class first and then a little while after the war started, I was given the First Class award by then Minister for Magic Harold Minchum."

"Wow," Raj said. "An act of outstanding bravery or distinction, huh?"

"Yes," she said.

"What did you do?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"I think that's a story for when you're a little older," Minerva said.

"No! I want to know! I want to know!" Lucy exclaimed. "I don't want to wait till I'm older!"

"I think your mother might be right," Raj said, not wanting Lucy to get scared by Minerva's story. "Just wait a little while."

Lucy made a face. She wasn't very happy about this. She was about to say something but before she could they turned a corner and ran into a woman with large, thick, circular glasses that magnified her eyes to about ten times their natural size. She wore a big shawl and many colourful beaded chains around her neck. She had bangles and bracelets covering her arms, making noise when she moved, and numerous rings on her fingers. Her hair was big and frizzy and she looked very gypsy like.

"Ah, Minerva," she said in a mystic voice. She didn't sound too happy to run into her colleague.

"Sybill," Minerva muttered, sounding just as displeased. Lucy looked from her mother to the woman, wondering why they didn't seem to like each other very much, and then up at her uncle. Raj gave her a little shrug. "Sybill this is my daughter, Lucy, and my friend, Raj Patil. Lucy, Raj, this is Professor Sybill Trelawney. She teaches Divinations."

"Professor," Raj said with a smile, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She looked at it for a moment as if this gesture was foreign to her, Raj began to wonder if it was, and then took his hand. She gave it a very weak shake.

"Mr. Patil," she said. "You are Miss Lucy's father then?"

"No - what," Raj said quickly, looking back at Minerva awkwardly. "I'm just her uncle. Minerva and I are just friends."

"Friends," she said skeptically, earning herself a glare from Minerva.

Lucy didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable Raj and Minerva were. She smiled happily and said, "hello, Professor Trelawney."

"Hello, Miss," Trelawney replied. "I already knew who you and Mr. Patil were, of course. I saw you three coming down this way."

"Saw us?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, I'm a Seer," she replied proudly. "I possess the second sight. The power to see into the future."

"That's what Divinations is," Minerva muttered indifferently. She looked over at Raj and he had to stop himself from laughing at the face she made. Apparently Minerva was not one hundred percent sold on the validity of this field of study.

"See the future?" Lucy asked, sounding intrigued. Her interest annoyed Minerva slightly. "How do you do that?"

"There are many different ways," she said, mood improving. Maybe Trelawney would be able to convert the daughter of her biggest critique over to her field. Wouldn't that be quite ironic? "I can always teach you if you'd like."

"Really? Could you predict something right now?" Lucy asked.

"Well, the inner eye does not work on demand," Trelawney muttered.

"Right," Minerva mumbled. Trelawney gave her a look.

"Of course," Raj said. He could feel the tension between Minerva and Trelawney and thought it might be best to get Lucy and Minerva out of here. "You know, Lucy, maybe we -"

"Well, I do see... danger in your future."

"Danger?" Lucy said. "What kind of danger?"

Minerva and Raj glared at Trelawney.

"Sybill!" Minerva exclaimed.

"I can't change the future, Minerva. I just report it," she replied. "I see death, not yours... yet."

"Yet..." Lucy said, taking her mother's hand quickly.

Raj couldn't believe this woman. This was a seven year old girl she was talking too. She could have just made up a nice, happy prediction for her. Why did she have to go straight to danger and death? Lucy was already scared of the war.

"Yes, not yours," Trelawney continued, either oblivious to Raj and Minerva's glares or just ignoring them. "Someone else's."

"Who?" Lucy asked quickly, looking very worried now.

"Sybill stop," Minerva said sternly.

"Is your father well, dear?" Trelawney asked, putting her fingers to her temple and closing her eyes, looking like she was concentrating very hard.

Lucy's worry went away and suddenly she raised her eye at this woman. She let go of Minerva's hand and crossed her arms. She had an idea. "Yes, he's fine."

"I would spend a lot more time with him if I were you. There may not be very much time left."

"Uh huh..." Lucy said and Raj laughed a little. Minerva did her best to stop herself from smiling. Lucy was realizing that Trelawney probably could not really seeing the future.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, dear," Trelawney said, opening her eyes again and giving Lucy a sad look.

"Thank you for the warning," Lucy replied, furrowing her brow and taking Minerva's hand again, ready to leave this woman.

"I'm sorry I could not give you very much details. If you would like I could always give you a palm reading. It would give me a better idea of what the future holds for you," she said, unaware that she had lost Lucy already.

"Ah no, that's okay. My dad used to say, ' _hathon ki lakiron par barabar vishvas nahi karna chahiye kyonki takkdir to unki bhi hoti hai jinake hath nahi hote_ '," Lucy replied sounding a little annoyed now. Raj burst out laughing very loudly and Minerva looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Sybill frowned at him, not understanding what was going on. Lucy translated for them. "Which means, 'your future does not depend on the lines of your hands, because people who do not have hands also have a future'."

Minerva suddenly had a coughing fit to cover up her laughter. God did she love that man. She composed herself and sighed. Trelawney looked as if she had just been slapped across the face. She slowly composed herself too and glared down at Lucy.

"Well, your father does not appreciate the art of Divinations," she huffed. She fixed her shawl indignantly before pushing past Minerva and muttering, "Now if you'll excuse me..."

When Trelawney was gone, Minerva laughed and tousled Lucy's hair. Lucy frowned at the hallway Trelawney had just walked down. "I don't think she's a real Seer."

"I think you're probably right," Raj said with a laugh. He reached down and picked Lucy up, bouncing her up and down happily. "That was some very smart thinking, Princess."

Lucy laughed. "You thought it was very funny."

"I did," Raj said. "So did your mother, though she didn't want to lose her perfect composure."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "I don't know if Sybill is a real Seer but she definitely thinks she is."

"She was kind of mean," Lucy said. "She scared me for a minute."

"She was kind of mean," Raj said with a nod. "Let's keep going and see more of the castle. That'll probably help you forget about her."

"Yes, let's go," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy nodded and Raj moved her onto his back. He raced down the hall and Lucy laughed. Minerva shook her head though she smiled and followed after him.

...

"What kind of teachers do you hire here?" Raj muttered, flopping down in the seat in front of Minerva's desk.

"Sybill is new," she muttered.

"She couldn't have faked a nice future?" Raj asked. "I mean just say something like you'll get a strange surprise soon or you'll come into some money. I don't know. She had to go straight to danger and death?"

"Safe bet, I suppose. With the war," Minerva said with a sigh. "She is actually a real Seer, though. Well as real a Seer as a Seer can be. Real Seers just don't work like she thinks they do."

"So she's not a fraud?"

"No, she is."

"But she's also a real Seer?"

"Yes."

Raj stared at Minerva for a while before saying, "did I miss something? How can you be a real Seer and a fraud at the same time?"

"You can't read tea leaves or palms to tell the future, Raj," Minerva said with a sigh, "but Sybill can tell prophecies. They come unexpectedly and the Seer doesn't remember when they happen."

"Oh, she was the one that told the prophecy about Lucy," Raj said.

"Not about Lucy," Minerva said with a frown. "About the war. Her name's not in it. It could not be her."

Raj sighed and gave Minerva a look.

"It _could_ not be her," Minerva said.

"That may be foolish."

Minerva sighed. She shook her head as she opened her bottom desk drawer. She pulled out the fake bottom and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey. Minerva conjured up some glasses and poured them both a drink. She handed him his glass before taking a sip of her own.

"I'm not letting Lucy fight in a war," he said quietly.

"I don't want her to either."

"She's too young."

"Much too young."

There was silence for a while before Raj sighed again and decided to change the subject. "Well," he mumbled, "Sybill Trelawney may be a real Seer but she's bad at being one."

Minerva smiled a little bit. "Asked if you were Lucy's father and then immediately told Lucy she already knew who the two of you were."

"Yes, I caught that," he said with a laugh. He shook his head. "Me and you, augh. Gross."

Minerva gave him a look.

"I mean... not that... I wasn't trying to... I was just..."

"You're so much better at talking to women in bars than you are at talking to me," Minerva said with a laugh.

"Not true," Raj said. "I can talk to you. I'm doing it right now."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't find the idea of the two of us doing anything together very appealing either," she said.

"Oh, don't lie," he said with a laugh. "I know you've been in love with me since we met."

"Oh, yes, of course," Minerva said sarcastically. "How could I not fall for my husband's best friend especially right after he got done hitting on my best friend."

"I wasn't hitting on her! I was just asking what she doing there! Why is that so hard for you people to understand?" Raj said.

Minerva laughed. "You are completely in love with Amelia Bones, Raj Patil. I know you are. You can't hide it from me."

Raj gave her a look. "I am not," he said. "Now see, I thought this was going to be a nice drink where you tell me about how stupid Divinations is and now I'm feeling very attacked."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "I can make a prediction right now."

"Shoot."

She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples like Trelawney had done earlier making Raj laugh. "I predict," she said, "that in the near future, hopefully a lot nearer than what I'm seeing right now, you and Amelia will finally profess your love for each other."

Raj laughed. "That's as good a prediction as Trelawney's."

"I think it's spot on," Minerva said, opening her eyes and picking up her drink again. "Maybe not this month, maybe not this year even, but soon. Soon you'll both stop being stupid, swallow your pride and tell each other how you feel. I predict it because I have faith in the both of you."

"Amelia and I are not meant to be, Minerva," Raj said. "It's not written in the stars!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "And why not."

"Because you and I both know that she's in love with someone else," Raj said.

"She is not in love with someone else. She had a crush. It's basically over. She just admires his work is all," Minerva said.

"I can't do basically over," he said. "Besides relationships aren't my thing. Never been good at them. I think it's in my blood."

"Raj, I think you should talk to her," Minerva said. "And I think you need to not think about your parents relationship when you try to build your own."

"So, Jay told you."

Minerva sighed and nodded. "I'm very sorry."

"You don't have to be," he said with a shrug. "He did what he did and I'm not sad that he did it. My mother and I were better off with him gone. We didn't have to hide anymore. I didn't have to worry about him finding my new school or finding my mum and doing something horrible. It was actually a relief."

"You are so strong, Raj. Strong enough to put him aside and build relationships for yourself that you can be proud of," she said with a small smile. "Amelia would be very lucky to have someone like you in her life."

"I don't know, Minerva," he said with a sigh. "I don't know."

She sighed and looked out window. "I don't know either, Raj," she said quietly. "All I know, is that I would do anything to be able to talk to Jay one more time so to see two people that really love each other not talk to each other when they so easily could... it hurts."

He sighed. "That is not what this is," Raj mumbled. "That is not what we are."

"Well, we can agree to disagree," Minerva said, turning back and giving him a small smile. "For now."

"For now?" Raj asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I still believe in my prediction," Minerva said with a smile.

Raj shook his head. He straightened up and leaned forward to pick up the bottle of firewhiskey. He poured some more into his now empty glass. Minerva held her glass out to him. He smiled and poured some more into her glass as well. He raised his glass and she clinked their glasses before they took another sip.


	17. TLT -- 17

**_November 1_** ** _997_**

 _Doctors were quite amazed by how long Jay was actually surviving after his body rejected the lung transplant but as the weeks passed his condition kept getting worse. His coughs were more frequent and even drew up blood now. He lost so much weight and his hair began to fall out. His eyes were tired and sunken but his smile still ever present. He smiled through his whole disease. He tried his best to stay happy for his children._

 _Today was not a happy day, though. Jay felt it. He knew that he was at the end now and there was nothing he could do about it. He looked at his children standing on either side of him. Raj was standing beside Daniel with his arms crossed trying very hard not to show any of his emotions. Jay was holding Daniel's hand with one of his own and cupped Lucy's cheek with the other._

" _You two are both such brilliant and compassionate people," Jay told his children in a quiet voice. "I am so proud of you both and I know that you'll both be okay. No matter what happens you'll be okay."_

" _Dad..." Daniel whispered._

 _Jay looked over at him with a small smile and gave his hand a little squeeze. "Daniel, you are such a good man. Your mother would be so proud of you. You love with all your heart just like she did. You'll take care of your sister for me, won't you?"_

" _Of course," Daniel said, tears beginning sting his eyes and overflowing onto his cheeks. He couldn't stop them. He didn't want to try._

" _And keep that Nina around," Jay said with a smile. "I can tell you really love her and she really loves you too. She's an amazing young woman. Don't let that one get away."_

" _Okay, Dad," Daniel said with a small smile._

" _You'll take care of them for me, won't you Raj?" Jay said, looking over at his friend._

" _Of course, Jay. Of course," Raj said, voice a little shaky. "I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe."_

" _Thank you," he said. "Thank you for everything. You have done so much for me and my family and I appreciate everything you've done. All the nights you spent here, all the extra work you took on. Thank you."_

" _It's not a problem at all," Raj said with a small smile. "I know if this was reversed you would have done the same for me."_

 _God how he wished that this was reversed. Raj would do anything to switch places with Jay right now. Jay had two children, he needed to live. He needed to survive for them. Raj didn't have anyone. He could die without leaving too much of a mark but Jay. When Jay died the world would be so much darker than it was now._

 _Jay gave him a smile. "Still, I thank you. Let Maria know that I appreciate her too. She did a lot as well. Tell her thank you for me."_

" _I will," Raj said._

 _Jay then turned to look at Lucy who was standing alone on the other side of the bed. She leaned against the bedframe, her little hands holding his arm tightly as he caressed her cheek. Tears were already falling from her eyes and Jay did his best to wipe them away._

" _Lucy, my darling," Jay whispered. "I am so proud of you too."_

" _D-Daddy," Lucy said. "Please, please don't."_

" _Now listen to me, darling," he continued. "You are so smart and so beautiful. You're going to do such great things, Lucy. And you have to do them even if I'm not there."_

" _But I want you to be there," Lucy said quickly, tears streaming down her face. "Daddy, please."_

" _I know, I know, my love," Jay replied. He sighed when he saw the broken look in his daughter's face. He looked back at Daniel, who was gripping his hand tightly, and Raj, who was looking away. They all had the same look on their face. He gave Daniel's hand a little squeeze before looking back at Lucy. "And I want to be there too. I want to be there so bad but sometimes these things happen. It'll be alright, love. You'll be alright. You and Daniel will both be alright. You'll find a way to be happy again, I promise."_

" _I don't know if I can ever be happy again," Lucy cried._

" _You will, darling, you will," Jay insisted._

 _Suddenly the heart monitor beside the bed started beeping violently. Jay winced in pain. His hand fell from her cheek. Lucy grabbed it with both her hands and cried, "Dad, no! Please, please, Daddy!"_

 _Raj moved quickly. "I'll get a nurse," he said. "Just hang in there, Jay, please."_

 _He raced for the door but Jay didn't think he was going to be able to hang in there. He had to go. He knew he had to go. He looked over at Daniel. Daniel let go of his hand and raced to the other side of the bed so he was beside Lucy again and Jay could look at both of them. Jay smiled a little. If he had to die, his children being the last thing he saw wasn't so bad._

" _Minerva will come back," he said quietly. He knew they didn't believe him anymore but he still had to tell them. "Take care of each other until then, okay?"_

" _Okay," Daniel said, voice choking up. Lucy didn't speak, she just nodded a little._

" _When she does come back tell her that I missed her and that I love her. Tell her that I'm sorry that I couldn't see her one last time before I had to go."_

" _I'll tell her, Dad, don't worry," Daniel said, though he doubted he'd ever get a chance to._

" _Daddy, please don't go!" Lucy cried. "Daddy, please!"_

" _Lucy, listen to me," Jay said. "Listen, some people search their whole lives for a little bit of magic but you! You have all that magic inside you and I know that with it you will do such great things. You are destined for greatness, my love. Remember that, okay?"_

" _Okay," Lucy whispered, though she didn't feel very great right now._

" _You too, Daniel," Jay said, looking up at his son. "You may not be able to do magic but you still have so much magic inside you too. I'm so proud of you. The both of you." Jay winced again and looked up at the ceiling. "I think I may have to go soon, my darlings. Will you forgive me for leaving?"_

" _Yes, yes of course," Daniel whispered, his heart breaking. Of course Jay would apologize right before he died._

" _Daddy, I love you," Lucy whispered, moving even closer and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you so much!"_

 _Jay smiled and closed his eyes._

 _The doors behind them opened and Raj and the doctors and nurses came in. The heart monitor flatlined but the doctors didn't move. Raj stared at them in disbelief, yelling at them to do something but they shook their head. Let him die with dignity, he heard a doctor. He watched his best friend convulse on the hospital bed and then looked over at Daniel and Lucy._

" _Daniel, take your sister out of here!" he yelled. They shouldn't be watching this._

 _Daniel looked back at him not understanding what he was saying for a minute, tears blurring his vision. His mind was clouded and he could barely hear what was going on. It wasn't until he felt Lucy fling herself onto the bed and sob on Jay's chest that he snapped out of his trance. He grabbed her and pulled her away._

" _NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She looked around at the nurses and doctors who had moved to bed now. They were still not doing anything. Jay's body was limp now. Unmoving. His eyes closed. They started removing the wires and tubes from his body. She heard a doctor read out the time of death. "NO! HE'S NOT DEAD! YOU HAVE TO SAVE HIM! DO SOMETHING! WHY AREN'T YOU DO ANYTHING?! DO SOMETHING!" Lucy looked over at her uncle who was just standing there, tears rolling down his cheeks. "MAKE THEM DO SOMETHING!"_

 _He didn't look at her and she kept screaming. Daniel carried her out of the room as she kept squirming and struggling, trying to get away. He was saying something to her but she couldn't understand. His voice sounded muffled, like they were underwater. The doctors were saying things too but she couldn't make out what they were saying either. A nurse came up to her and Daniel as she kept struggling to make her leave the room and tried to calm Lucy down but she couldn't understand what she was saying either. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion and Lucy didn't even know what her own body was doing. She just wanted her dad. He wasn't dead. He was right there and if she could get to him everything would be okay._

 _Daniel held her tightly and the nurse helped him by holding her hands so she couldn't hit him. They made it outside of the room and the nurse let her go. She couldn't see her father anymore and her body went limp. She stopped everything. She stopped because she knew. She knew but she didn't understand. She still couldn't understand. She couldn't make herself comprehend._

 _Daniel shifted her so he could hold her properly. Lucy wasn't holding herself up anymore so it made it very difficult. He rested his back on the hallway wall and slowly slid down onto his butt. He held his sister tightly as she sobbed. After a while, when he was sure she wouldn't try to run away from him, he lets her go and covers his own face with his hands. They sat there like that for a long time before he felt Lucy move again. He uncovered his face and looked up._

 _Lucy had turned and was standing in his lap. Tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were very red. She looked up at him and he put his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. She leaned on his chest and reached up to wiped the tears off his cheeks with both of her hands, tears still falling down her own cheeks. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath._

" _Daniel..." she whispered, voice shaky and barely audible. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder._

 _They sat there for a while. Daniel didn't really know how long but it felt like ages. No one disturbed them. The doctors and nurses knew that they needed time. When he finally got his strength back, Daniel wiped the tears from his face and stood up. He was ready to be the adult and do what needed to be done next._

 _He walked with Lucy still in his arms away from his father's hospital room and out of the unit. Outside in the waiting room he saw Raj sitting waiting for them. He had been giving them space too. When he saw them he stood up and met them halfway. He held his arms out and Daniel handed Lucy over. Lucy looked at him and hugged him tightly._

" _It'll be okay, my love," he whispered. "You and Daniel should go though."_

 _Daniel shook his head. He told Raj that there was a lot of work to get done now. A lot of paperwork to go through, a lot of doctors and lawyers to talk to. Raj said he'd handle it and Daniel should just go home and rest but Daniel refused. He was going to do it. He wanted to do it. He told Raj that he should take Lucy but Raj said that he was going to stay at the hospital with Daniel. He wasn't going to let Daniel do all of this on his own. Now they just needed to figure out who would take Lucy while they did that._

 _Nina came as quickly as she could when Daniel called her. She had been staying with them in London at night after her classes but had stayed behind at the hotel today so she could work on an assignment she had due. She took a cab to the hospital and found Daniel, Raj, and Lucy sitting in the waiting area by the front door. Neither of them were crying anymore, neither of them were talking and neither of them were looking at each other. Daniel sat resting his elbows on his thighs, leaning forwards with his hands folded. He stared straight ahead, looking like he was very deep in thought. Lucy had her feet up on the chair, knees tucked into her chest. She had a hand over her mouth and chin and was looking sadly off to the side. Raj sat straight up, looking off in the distance, with military like posture._

 _Nina raced over to them, tears falling down her cheeks. Daniel saw her and stood up immediately. They hugged and Lucy watched them from where she sat. After they pulled away, Nina looked at the other two. Raj gave her a polite nod as greeting and Lucy just stared at her. Nina kneeled down in front of Lucy and took her hands before asking a question that Lucy would hear way too many time in the next few weeks and would never know how to respond to._

" _Are you alright, my love?"_

 _Lucy just nodded a very unconvincing nod. Nina looked up at Daniel with a very concerned look. He took no notice and just told her what to do next. Nina was to take Daniel's car back to the hotel with Lucy while he finished up at the hospital. Raj would give him a ride back to the hotel after they finished up. Nina didn't like this plan. She told him to come with her. She told them both to come with her. She told them that the paperwork could wait and that they didn't have to put all of this on their shoulders right now. They needed time to grieve. Daniel shook his head and insisted that he had to get it done today or he wouldn't be able to make himself do it later. Nina looked over at Raj who gave her a reassuring look. He stood up and told her to take care of Lucy, they would be done soon. Daniel told her, very unconvincingly, that he was fine and handed her his keys and Lucy's jacket. Reluctantly Nina took them, said goodbye to Daniel and Raj and watched them walk back towards the unit Jay had been in. She then looked back at Lucy, who was standing up now too. Lucy was ready to leave the hospital. She wanted to be as far away from this place as possible. Nina got back down on a knee and helped Lucy put on and zip up her winter coat. She also helped her put on her mittens and then the two girls walked hand in hand towards the car. When they reached it, Nina helped Lucy get in and buckle up in the back and then got into the driver's seat herself._

 _They drove in silence back to the hotel. Nina looked at Lucy through the rearview mirror every so often. The little girl just stared out the window of the car at the people on the street without a word. The people outside all seemed to be happy. All going about their day as if nothing had happened. As if Lucy's whole world hadn't just been completely destroyed. She felt anger towards them. How dare they not know. How dare they be happy when all Lucy felt was despair. She wanted the sun to disappear from the sky and the clouds to cover everything in ten feet snow so that everyone and everything outside could be as cold as she felt inside. She wanted everyone to feel the pain she felt right now. She wanted them to know that all the happiness had been drained from this world and that there was nothing left._

 _As if per her request, snow began to fall from the sky. Lucy and Nina made it to the hotel and got out of the car. The snow settled in their hair and on their coats as they made their way into the hotel. They walked to their room on the top floor. When Nina unlocked the door and opened it, Lucy quickly took off her boots and walked over to a big window and pushed the curtains aside. She sat down in an armchair by the window and looked down on London. The snow fell down in large, fluffy flakes covering the streets below. She had not removed her coat or mittens. She still felt cold. The cold felt colder and more encompassing than it had before. It was suffocating. She felt like she would never be warm ever again._

 _Nina walked over to her. She reached down and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Are you hungry, darling? Do you want me to get you some food?"_

 _Lucy shook her head._

" _Alright," Nina replied. "Don't you want to take off your coat and mittens?"_

 _Again she just shook her head._

" _Are you cold?"_

 _This time Lucy nodded. Nina sighed. She walked towards a bedroom and grabbed a blanket. She dragged it back out to where Lucy is. Putting the blanket down beside the armchair, Nina kneeled down in front of Lucy. Grabbing her hands, she pulled the little girl off the chair and unzipped her coat. The coat was still a little damp from the melted snow._

" _No. I don't want to," Lucy protested quietly._

" _It's okay," Nina said, forcing her to take off the coat. "If you want you can keep the mittens on. Do you want to?"_

 _Lucy nodded. With her coat now off she felt so much colder. Nina tossed the wet jacket onto another chair nearby and then got up. She picked up the blanket that she brought and put it down on the chair Lucy had been sitting in. She sat down on the chair and pulled Lucy onto her lap. Then wrapped the big blanket around the both of them. Lucy turned so she is sitting perpendicular in Nina's lap and wrapped her arm around her stomach. Nina wrapped her arms around her too. Lucy clung to Nina's body for the warmth she was missing, resting her head on Nina's chest. The two of them sat there like that for a really long time, not saying anything just watching the snow fall outside._

 _..._

 _Daniel and Raj pulled up to the hotel late that night. Raj dropped him off and Daniel told him that he should just go home. Raj needed rest as well and Daniel didn't feel right making him stay with them. Raj reluctantly let Daniel go alone and drove off back to his own flat._

 _Daniel walked up to their room and found Lucy and Nina still in the armchair holding each other. They were fast asleep now. He took off his coat and boots before walking over to them. He checked the time on his watch. It was quite late now. He debated whether he should just let them sleep on the chair but seeing the way Nina's neck was tilted decided against it. He shook her gently enough to wake only her up. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile. He returned it and then picked Lucy up off her lap. She woke up when he did so._

" _Daniel?" she murmured, still half asleep._

" _Hey, Lucy," he replied. "It's time to go to bed."_

" _Can I sleep with you and Nina?" she whispered back, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to be alone."_

" _Sure, kid," Daniel said softly._

 _He walked into his and Nina's bedroom with Lucy still in his arms and laid her down on the bed. Nina followed them in, blanket in hand. She put the blanket down on the bed on top of Lucy and then both she and Daniel got changed before getting into bed too._

 ** _November 1997_**

 _Amelia woke up to an extremely cold house. With a flick of her wand a fire started in the fireplace and coffee began brewing in the kitchen as she got up and got ready for the day. She walked towards the kitchen, picking up the mail from the front on her way, and poured herself a cup of coffee. Sitting down at the table, she sipped the warm drink as she shuffled through the letters she received. Nothing of too much interest so she moved on to the paper. The Muggle paper always arrived earlier than the_ _Daily Prophet_ _so she had a habit of reading that one first. Thankfully there was no huge catastrophe plastered across this morning's paper. She had begun to think that there was always a new one everyday so days like today were quite pleasant surprises._

 _Amelia read through the newspaper and turned the page to find Jay Collins's smiling face staring up at her. She read the article title, gasped, and dropped her mug. She accidentally spilled hot coffee over the table and quickly stood up to avoid getting doused in it._

 ** _CEO of Collins Enterprises, Jay Collins, Pronounced Dead in Victoria Hospital_**

 _Amelia quickly used her wand to clean up her mess before sitting down and reading the article quickly. Cystic fibrosis is what killed him. A lung disease that if she recalled correctly had also killed his mother. He had been staying in that hospital for months._

 _No, this couldn't be right. There must be some mistake. If Jay was staying in the hospital for months she would have found out about it, wouldn't she? Amelia quickly rushed towards her study and picked up the phone, punching in the Collins's number. The phone rang for a long time and no one picked up. Finally the answering machine did but it said that the inbox was full and Amelia wouldn't be able to leave a message. Amelia pulled out a large London phone book and found Victoria Hospital. She called the number and asked the woman who answered about Jay Collins. The woman told her that he had indeed passed away. Amelia hung up the phone, tears falling down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. Jay Collins was dead._

 _Amelia grabbed her coat and quickly Apparated up to Hogwarts._

" _I'm sorry, Ma'am, but Mr. Collins passed away last night," a blonde woman said sadly._

" _No, no, this must be a mistake," Minerva said angrily. "It must be a different Collins. I'm talking about Jay Collins."_

" _So am I, Ma'am. I'm sorry."_

 _Minerva closed her eyes, took a deep breath and gripped the counter tightly. Tears stung her eyes and she did her best to hold them back. "How long did he stay here?"_

" _Ah," the receptionist said, typing on her computer. "He was brought here four months ago in July."_

" _Okay, thank you," Minerva whispered, pushing away from the counter and walking briskly for the door. Tears were running down her cheeks now and she just had to get away. She walked through the cold streets of London until she finally made it to a dark alleyway. She ducked in and slammed her back into a wall. "AUGH!"_

 _Tears streamed down her face and she pulled out her wand. She flicked it and a flash of red light flashed out of it exploded against a dumpster._

 _This wasn't supposed to happen. She left so this wouldn't happen. What was the point of being away from her family for the last two years if she still couldn't protect them? She slid down the brick wall and sat down on the snow with her knees up to her chest and just cried for a very long time._

 _..._

 _Lucy woke up the next morning very angry. Angry at Daniel and Nina, angry at herself, angry at the world. She refused to eat breakfast and refused to help pack. When Raj came over she refused to greet him or even move from her seat on an armchair. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to eat, she didn't want to do anything._

" _Hey, Princess," Raj said quietly, kneeling down in front of Lucy's chair. "We're all packed up. You three are going to head back to Rochester now."_

 _Lucy shook her head._

" _You don't want to go back?"_

 _Again she shook her head._

" _Do you want to stay in London?"_

 _Still, Lucy shook her head._

" _Then what would you like to do?"_

 _Lucy sighed and shrugged. She slid off the armchair and hugged Raj._

 _Raj sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "I know it's hard, my love," he said, putting a hand on the back of her head. "I know you don't feel like doing anything but he wouldn't want that. He would want you to keep going."_

" _I don't want to go home without Daddy," Lucy whispered. "I want Daddy."_

" _I know," Raj said with a sigh. "I know."_

 _He picked Lucy up and walked to where Daniel and Nina were standing, waiting by the door. Daniel handed him Lucy's coat and he helped her put it on. He then put her down so he could help her put on her boots and then took her hand and led them all down to the parkade where Daniel's car was._

" _I had Maria talk to your schools," he said. "She told them that you would be taking the next few days off."_

 _Daniel nodded as he unlocked the doors. Raj opened the back door for Lucy. "And if you ever need to talk to someone," he said. "There a loads of counsellors available through the school. If you don't want to talk to one of them we can find someone else."_

" _I don't need to talk to anyone," Lucy mumbled as she put on her seatbelt._

" _It's alright to talk to someone about how you feel, Lucy," he said. "There's no shame in asking for help."_

 _She didn't say anything. Raj sighed and said goodbye before closing the door. He looked over at Nina and Daniel and told Daniel the same thing. He nodded and gave Raj a hug before getting into the driver's seat. Raj then looked at Nina._

" _Take care of them, will you?" he asked her sadly. He knew that she was only eighteen and he was asking a lot of her but right now he just needed to make sure that Lucy and Daniel stayed okay. "I'll come over as much as I can but... but look after them while I'm not there."_

" _Of course, Uncle," she said with a small smile. "I'll do my best."_

 _He put a hand on her shoulder and have it a little squeeze. "You're a good girl," he said. "I'll come over tonight with dinner."_

 _She nodded and said goodbye before getting into the car too. He watched the car drive away and sighed. It was strange to see how much could change in just one day. How much colder the world could become with just one less person in it. Raj got into his own car and drove down to the Collins Enterprises building. It was early on a Friday, and most departments had been given the day off so he hadn't expected to see anyone else._

 _He took the elevator up to the top floor and walked towards Jay's office. When he turned the corner, he saw Maria sitting at her desk waiting for him. She gave him a small sad smile and held out a bottle of whisky._

 _He pulled a chair over and sat down at her desk. She poured each of them a cup. It was much too early to be drinking but today they both needed it._

 _..._

 _Amelia appeared outside the Hogwarts gates. Aurors were stationed there to check anyone coming in. She passed by them quickly enough and walked briskly up to the castle. Snow fell around her as she walked, settling in her hair and on her coat. She made it to the castle and walked through the cold empty hallways towards Gryffindor Tower. Today was a cold day and it seemed everyone, student, teacher and refugee alike, were taking refuge by fireplaces or under blankets. For them it was just an ordinary, slow Friday morning._

 _Amelia made it to Minerva's office and opened the door. The office was empty but newspapers from today were scattered across the desk. A lone candle sat beside the mess of newspapers looking like it had been blown out long ago. A forgotten cup of tea sat half full on the edge of the desk with delicate red lipstick staining its rim. A framed family photo lay face down on the floor, glass shards surrounding it. It looked like it must have been thrown. Amelia picked it up and used her wand to mend it. She looked down at the smiling faces of Minerva, Jay, Daniel, and Lucy for a second before sighing, closing the office door and sitting down in front of the desk to wait for her friend._

 _Minerva arrived almost two hours later, eyes red and shivering. Amelia hopped to her feet immediately and helped her over to her chair. Amelia helped her take off her coat and sent a House Elf for hot tea._

" _Y-you heard," Minerva whispered still shivering as Amelia conjured up a blanket and put it around her._

" _I did," Amelia said quietly, wrapping her arms around Minerva's shoulders. Minerva avoided her gaze and stared straight ahead. "I'm so sorry, Minerva. I didn't believe it when I first heard."_

" _I didn't either," Minerva said. Amelia had to strain to hear her despite being right beside her. "I went down to Victoria Hospital myself to see for sure."_

 _Amelia sighed. So that's where Minerva had been. She must have spent hours out in the cold after visiting the hospital to be in this condition now._

" _He had been there for four months. Stuck in the hospital for four months and I - I didn't even know," Minerva continued, tears starting up again. They stung on her still frozen skin as they went down her cheeks. She had thought she was all cried out. "If I had known... if I had been there... maybe..."_

" _It's not your fault," Amelia whispered, own eyes watering now too. "It's not your fault, Minerva."_

" _I left, Amelia! If I had stayed... maybe... I could have done... something," Minerva cried. "I let him down. I let them all down!"_

" _No, you didn't," Amelia said. "No, you didn't. You could never do that."_

 _Minerva looked down at the newspapers on her desk._ _She felt tears fall from her eyes as the smiling face of her husband looked up at her from the paper._ _Jay Collins, CEO of Collins Enterprises, pronounced dead in Victoria Hospital._ _More bodies were piling up as the war raged on and Minerva had cried for the losses of old students, friends and colleagues but this was different. This came out of the blue. She had left home to avoid something like this and it happened anyway. Her husband was dead._

 _There was a knock on the door. Minerva quickly wiped her face as Amelia got up to get the door. She opened the door to find Albus Dumbledore standing on the other side. She sighed and let him in._

" _I heard," he said quietly, walking over to the desk and sitting down in front of it. Amelia closed the door behind him and followed his lead._

 _Minerva closed her eyes for a second and felt Dumbledore place a hand over hers. "He's gone, Albus," she whispered. "He's gone and I wasn't there for him. If I had been there maybe I could have done something! If I had known I could have had Poppy look him over!"_

" _It's not your fault, Minerva," Albus said. "You didn't know."_

 _Minerva didn't reply. She looked away from Albus and Amelia and looked at a framed photograph on her desk. She had thrown it across the room this morning when she had first found out. Amelia must have fixed it. She picked up the frame and leaned back in her chair. Jay was smiling with one arm around Minerva and held a two year old Lucy in the other. Lucy was pointing a finger at the camera. She was leaning her head on her father's and smiling. Minerva remembered how hard it had been to keep her from running away from the camera to go play with some new toy that she had gotten earlier that day. Eventually they had given up and Jay had just picked her up. A fourteen year old Daniel stood in front of them with a wide grin in his face. Minerva ruffled his hair and he swatted her hand away. It was an old photo. Lucy was six now and Daniel was eighteen. She hadn't seen them both in two years._

" _Are you going to the funeral?" Dumbledore asked, pulling her out of her thoughts._

" _I don't know," Minerva mumbled._

" _What about the children?" Amelia asked._

" _I don't know," she mumbled again, closing her eyes. She wanted to go back. She wanted to go back so bad. They probably needed her. But would that just put them in more danger?_

 _They sat there in silence for a long time before finally Dumbledore spoke. "I do have some good news if you want to hear it."_

 _Minerva looked up and gave a small nod._

" _Lilly is pregnant."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yes, she's about a month along," Dumbledore replied with a smile._

" _That's excellent," Amelia said quietly with a small smile. "First Frank and Alice and now Lily and James."_

" _How is she doing?" Minerva asked, wiping the last bit of tears from her cheek._

" _She is well."_

" _That's good," Minerva replied tiredly. She sat up straight again and put her photograph back into her desk drawer._

" _Even in dark times like these, you can still find a little bit of light," Dumbledore said giving her a small smile._

 _..._

 _Daniel, Nina and Lucy made it back to Rochester to find their front entrance filled with white flower bouquets. Lucy walked over to one of them and picked up a note. It expressed the sender's condolences and told Lucy and Daniel to stay strong. Lucy shoved the note back into the bouquet. All the flowers and notes made her angry. These people didn't really care about her father. If they cared they would have done something when he was sick._

 _Lucy ran up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She looked around her room angrily before running to her bookshelf and grabbing books to throw across the room. Hardcover books hit the walls and floors with loud bangs. She moved from shelf to shelf throwing book after book. Angry tears rolled down Lucy's cheeks and hair fell out of its braid in front of her eyes._

 _The door swung open and a frantic Daniel stumbled in. He looked around at the mess of books around the room and then over to Lucy. "What the hell are you doing?"_

 _Lucy ignored him. She had run out of books so she moved to her dresser. She pulled out drawers and let them fall onto the floor, barely missing her toes._

" _Lucy stop it!" Daniel yelled, moving over and putting a hand over the drawer so that she couldn't pull it open._

 _She pulled as hard as she could but he wasn't going to let it move. She gave up and picked stuff up from on top of the dresser. She grabbed a candle and threw it at the opposite wall. The glass candle holder shattered and fell to the floor. Daniel stared at it in disbelief. Lucy moved to the next thing she could grab. She picked up a glass Eiffel Tower and threw that too. She then grabbed the mahogany music box but before she could throw it as well, Daniel snapped out of his trance and grabbed it from her._

" _No! Stop! Lucy!" he yelled, taking it from her. She paid no attention to him, grabbed a hairbrush and threw that instead. Daniel put the music box down and grabbed her around the waist, dragging her towards the bed. Lucy struggled with all her might but she was no match for him._

" _No!" she screamed. "I don't want to! No! I want... no!"_

" _Lucy stop, please," he whispered this time, tears rolling down his own face now. He sat down on the edge of her bed holding her tightly in his lap as she struggled to get away._

" _I hate him!" Lucy screamed. "Why'd he leave? He shouldn't have left! I hate him!"_

" _No, you don't," Daniel whispered. "No, you don't."_

" _Yes, I do! I hate him! I hate him for... for..."_

" _For dying?"_

 _Finally Lucy stopped. She stopped struggling and went limp in Daniel's arms. Stopping made everything worse. Suddenly she couldn't hide behind anger. Suddenly she could feel the cold darkness surround her again. Suddenly all she could do was watch her whole world crash down around her and she was unable to do anything to stop it. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Daniel moved her so she was sitting better in his lap. He wiped his own tears and hugged Lucy close to him._

" _It's not fair!" she cried._

" _I know," he whispered. His voice breaking a little as more tears streamed down his face. "It's not. It's really not."_

" _He was supposed to get better! He was supposed to come home!" she continued. "We were going to go to that new restaurant on High Street! And I was going to show him my new dance! I wanted to - I wanted to do so many things! It's not fair!"_

" _I know, Lucy. Me too."_

 _Lucy turned in his lap and hugged his chest tightly, burying her tear stained face into his chest. Daniel put a hand on the back of her head and rubbed circles on her back. "D-Daniel... what are we going to do?"_

" _I don't know, Lucy," he replied honestly. He couldn't lie to her now. He was just as lost and scared as she was. "I really don't know."_

 ** _December 1997_**

 _Lucy looked up at the photo sitting at the front of the funeral home surrounded by flowers. The photo was an older photo, her father looked much younger in it. She wondered how old he had been in it. He looked very happy._

 _The ceremony was over and the casket had been carried out to the hearse where it would be driven to the cemetery. Daniel had given a speech. It was nice. He talked about his best memories with Jay and some of the advice Jay had given him._

 _"Keep your head up, even when it feels like everything around you is collapsing," he had said, looking directly at Lucy when he said it. "Because when the dust settles and you finally reach your destination you'll be so glad that you did."_

 _People were starting to leave, some to accompany them to the cemetery, others to just go home. Raj had did his best to keep reporters and cameras out but they stood outside waiting to take pictures of Lucy and Daniel. Lucy wished they would just leave them alone. She didn't want her picture taken. She didn't want them to ask her questions. She didn't want to talk. She just wanted to be left alone._

 _Lucy looked around. Most everyone had cleared out now. Daniel, Nina and Raj were standing by the door talking to people who came to give their condolences. Lucy had left because she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want people who barely knew them to tell them how amazing her father had been. She already knew how amazing he was and it just hurt even more. He was too good to just die._

 _Lucy took a couple steps towards the stage and looked up at the picture of her father. She just wanted him to come back. She had avoided the stage earlier, not wanting to look at the cold, lifeless body of her father. She just couldn't. She didn't mind looking at this happy, smiling Jay though. It made her feel a little better to see him like this._

 _"What are you doing up there?" said an American voice behind her._

 _Lucy turned around to see a man with snowy white hair and a white moustache. She recognized this man. It was Howard Stark. She had met him on a visit to Collins Enterprises once._

 _"Nothing," she whispered, looking down at her feet. "Sorry."_

 _"That's alright. I wasn't trying to tell you off," he said with a small smile that didn't really reach his eyes. "I think that right now you get to do whatever it is you'd like."_

 _Lucy looked up again and looked at this man. Why was he talking to her? Why wasn't he talking with Uncle Raj or Daniel?_

 _"Your father told me a lot about you, Miss Collins," Stark said. "We met once but you were quite young, I'm not sure if you remember."_

 _"I do."_

 _"That's great! That marvelous memory of yours!" he said. He looked back around him and saw that Daniel was now walking towards them, alone. Nina and Raj were still standing by the door. He smiled the same false smile that he had given Lucy. "Ah, Mr. Collins. Howard Stark. I worked closely with your father on a few projects here and there."_

 _Daniel walked over and Lucy scrambled off the stage towards him. She took his hand and all but hid behind his legs. Stark stuck out his hand and Daniel shook it. "Yes," he said. "I've heard of you, sir. Thank you for coming."_

 _"Of course," Stark replied, his voice was odd. He sounded like he was trying very hard to sound fatherly and warm but failing miserably. There was a cold, robotism under his words that he just couldn't hide. Lucy had heard it the first time they met and still heard it now. It made her very suspicious of this man. "I am very sorry for your loss. Your father was a great man."_

 _"Yeah," Daniel mumbled, also hearing the insincerity in Stark's voice._

 _"You're father told me a lot about you both," Stark said, not noticing Daniel and Lucy's hesitation. He wasn't very good at this kind of thing. He wished Peggy was here. She knew how to deal with grieving people, especially children, better than he did. "My son is not that much younger than you. Maybe you'll meet him someday."_

 _"Ah, yeah, we've met," Daniel said. He just wanted to get going. The funeral procession wanted to head out and he knew that they would be waiting for him and Lucy. He tried his best to hint that they were in a rush but Stark didn't seem to get it._

 _"Oh, right. Anyways. I just wanted to make sure that all the deals that Stark Industries had made with Collins Enterprises before now will still be held," Howard said, his voice changing to a diplomatic one. They had exchanged enough pleasantries in his opinion. It was time to get back to business. The real reason he was here._

 _Daniel was a bit taken aback. Was Howard Stark really talking business at his father's funeral? Daniel frowned and stared at the man for a moment before finally saying coldly, "You'll have to take that up with the Board of Directors. I will not be running my father's company yet. I'm still in school, you see."_

 _"Ah, yes of course," he replied._

 _"Well, Lucy and I better get going, Mr. Stark," Daniel said quickly before he could bring up something else. He wanted to get away from this man as soon as possible. "It was nice meeting you and thank you again for coming."_

 _"You as well," Howard said._

 _He and Daniel shook hands one last time before Daniel led Lucy away. As they walked, Lucy saw the angry expression on her brother's face. She didn't really understand what exactly had just happened but she knew whatever it was, it could not have been good._

 _They made it back to the door where Daniel let go of Lucy's hand and handed her over to Nina instead. He pulled Raj aside a little and the two had a hushed conversation which left Raj very upset as well. Raj looked around but thankfully for everyone there, he did not see Howard Stark. He shook his head and said something to Daniel that Lucy didn't hear before leading them out to the cars._

 _..._

 _A black and grey tabby cat stood far away from the procession of people in black suits and dresses holding black umbrellas watching them intently. Rain poured down but the cat didn't move. She watched the casket move towards the graves and shook her head. She looked away, over to the car driving by on the street._

 _"Lucy?"_

 _The cat turned it's head towards the voice. It was a young woman, probably around eighteen or nineteen. She had caramel brown skin, brown eyes, and long black hair. She was wearing a thick black coat and holding a little girl's hand. Lucy was so much older now. Her hair was long, coming to about mid back. Half of it was clipped up while the rest laid over her shoulders. She was staring off, away from the funeral._

 _"Are you ready to go back?" the woman asked._

 _"No," she whispered, shaking her head vigorously. "I don't want to go back. Can I go sit in the car?"_

 _"Sure," the woman said. "Let's go."_

 _"No," Lucy said again. "I want to be alone. You should go back to Daniel."_

 _"It's alright. He can -"_

 _"No, you should go back," Lucy said. "I have an umbrella. I can go myself."_

 _The woman looked Lucy up and down for a second before nodding. "Alright, if you're sure," she said, pulling her keys out from her pocket and handing them to Lucy. "Come find me or Daniel if you need anything, love."_

 _"Okay, Nina," Lucy mumbled, opening up her umbrella and walking away from the woman. Nina watched her go for a minute before sighing and walking back towards the group of mourners._

 _The cat watched Lucy walk a few steps, look back and see Nina was gone before letting her umbrella fall to her side and the rain pour down on her. She looked up at the sky and let the rain wash over her face. She took a deep breath and put her umbrella back up before walking again, towards the carpark. The cat moved quickly to catch up with the girl. It ran up to her and started walking under the umbrella as well. Lucy looked down and saw the cat. She stopped walking and stared at it._

 _"You probably don't like the rain, huh?" she whispered, leaning down and petting the cat on the head. She sighed. "The rain's not that bad, though. It helps, I think. The sky is crying like everybody else."_

 _She straightened up again and started walking again. The cat followed, rubbing her face on Lucy's leg. Lucy walked up to a car and used the keys that Nina gave her to open it. She opened the door and closed her umbrella. Throwing the umbrella inside, she picked up the cat, got in and closed the door. Now inside the warm, dry car, Lucy leaned back in the seat and sighed. She set the cat down beside her and kicked off her muddy shoes. She put up her legs and leaned on the door._

 _"I'm not having a good day, Mr. Cat," she said quietly. She took a deep breath and gulped. "I'm not really having a good... month... year."_

 _The cat jumped on Lucy's lap and curled up close to her. Lucy's breathing started getting rapid and she put her head in her hands. She sobbed into her hands, whole body shaking. The cat rubbed its face on Lucy's hands. Lucy looked up, tears staining her face. She wiped her tears away and looked away. She sniffed and pet the cat in her lap._

 _"He was supposed to get better," Lucy whispered, tears falling down her cheeks again. "He was supposed to come home and be here... and be with us... and love us... and be happy. He wasn't supposed to leave. Why does everyone leave?"_

 _The cat purred softly and consolingly. Lucy looked down at it and sighed. She scratched it behind the ears and smiled a little. She wiped the tears away again. The cat meowed and snuggled closer to Lucy's chest._

 _"I just miss him so much. I really needed him and I don't know what I'm going to do now that he's gone. All I want is to be able to talk to him one last time and say goodbye properly. Just see him. Tell him about my day. Listen to him. Why didn't I listen to him more? Why was I such a brat? I should have been better."_

 _Lucy picked up the cat and moved it over to the seat beside her. She straighten up and sat properly, looking out of the rain covered window at the mourners. She hiccuped and sniffled. Getting up, she reached over in between the driver and passenger seat to grab a napkin. She sat back down and blew her nose. She looked at the cat that seemed to be looking at her with concern and frowned. She looked back outside and shook her head._

 _"They say that he's in a better place now," she muttered darkly, voice getting louder and angrier with every word. "That's not true. If he was in a better place he would be here. With me and Daniel. But he's not. What place could be better? They also say that he's watching over me. That's stupid. He's not. He's gone. He's gone and he's not coming back!" She kicked the seat in front of her with her foot. "He's never coming back! He's gone! Why are people stupid? Why don't they understand that?"_

 _The cat meowed and moved closer to Lucy's leg but she pushed it away._

 _"He's gone and nothing will ever be the same," she whispered, anger subsiding into sadness and loneliness. "They say I'm strong and I'm trying but I'm not. I'm not strong. I'm still just little! I'm little and I'm scared and I'm alone and I want my daddy so bad!"_

 _She brought her legs up and tucked them into her chest. She buried her head in her arms and sobbed. The cat watched her for a second wanting nothing more than to change back into a person here and now so she could console this crying little girl. Lucy cried and cried for what felt like ages before she stopped. She looked up and saw people begin to walk away from the grave. She wiped the tears away from her face, put her shoes back on and grabbed her umbrella. She opened the door, opened the umbrella, let the cat out and ran towards the gravestone. The cat followed behind her. People call her name, telling her to stay strong and that everything will be alright as she ran passed them, giving them no attention. They eyed the cat running at her feet but said nothing._

 _When she reached the tombstone there were only three people left standing there, Daniel, Nina, and Raj. The cat stayed back and hid amongst neighbouring tombstones, not wanting Daniel to recognized. Daniel, Nina, and Raj looked over at Lucy and gave her small reassuring smiles. Nina held out her hand for Lucy. Lucy walked up and took it. She walked closer to stone and read it. Jay Collins, 1945-1997. His life was our life's best part._

 _"Here," Nina said softly, holding a single white rose out to Lucy. "I saved one for you, in case you came back."_

 _Lucy took it and walked closer to the grave. She looked at the flowers set in front of it for a second before ignoring them and walking closer. Instead she set her rose down on top of the tombstone. She then put a hand on the stone. The black rock was cold on her skin. "Bye, Daddy," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks again. "I didn't get to say goodbye before... I miss you so much already."_

 _She stood there for a moment longer before turning back and looking at Raj, Nina and Daniel. She walked over to Raj. He kneeled down and hugged her tightly before lifting her up into his arm. "Let's go home, Princess."_

 _Nina took her umbrella from her as she no longer needed it under Raj's. Lucy wrapped her arms around her uncle's shoulders and buried her face into the crook of his neck. He held her with one arm and hold the umbrella up above them with the other as he followed Nina and Daniel back down towards the car. Daniel put an arm around Nina as they walked._

 _The cat watched them go. She watched the cars drive away one by one. Off to find warmth in their own homes. After the last one was gone and a thorough glance around found no stranglers, the cat turned back around and looked at the grave. Slowly she transformed into a woman, wearing her hair down and long black robes. Minerva McGonagall kneeled down in front of her husband's grave and cried. She watched the wind and rain beat at the white petals of the rose Lucy had put on the stone and let all the emotions she had tried to hold back after the day she had found out about her husband's passing overflow._

 _The tears didn't feel like they had an end to them but eventually they did stop. Though the pain did not subside the tears refused to fall anymore. Minerva was all cried out. The rain had washed her clean and the cool air had decloud her mind. Now it was time for her to focus clearly and think about what her next move was going to be. Should she stay away still? The war was still raging on and it was still a huge risk for her to be traveling to and from Rochester everyday. It was dangerous for the children for her to be around. Should she go home anyways? They needed her. Lucy felt scared and alone and needed a parent. Daniel was only eighteen. He wasn't ready to raise his sister on top of everything else. Even with Raj there to help, Daniel would still have so much more responsibilities on him than he needed right now. He needed time to mourn on his own without worrying about Lucy._

 _Minerva didn't know what to do. She stared at her husband's name etched cleanly into the stone. She knew what he would have wanted her to do but she needed to do what was best. Or did she? Is what is best for you always what you should do? Minerva guessed that this was something she had to figure out. She stood up, pulled out her wand and conjured up a white rose like the one Lucy had set on the stone. She set it down on the tombstone on the opposite side of Lucy's and then Apparated back to Hogwarts._

* * *

 ** _Friday, November 27th 1998_**

"Lucy, darling, why are you still in bed?" Minerva said, quickly bursting into Lucy's bedroom. She had woken the girl up about thirty minutes ago and had thought that she getting ready. "Dorcas and Remus will be here soon."

Lucy groaned and turned over in bed, pulling the blanket over her head. Minerva frowned and walked over to the bed. She kneeled down beside it and put a hand on her back. "What's wrong, my love? Do you feel sick?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Then what's wrong?"

Lucy took a deep breath and turned so she could look at her mother. Minerva saw the tears rolling down her face. She looked very tired, like she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Her nose was red and her eyes were puffy.

"It's the twenty seventh," she whispered.

Minerva sighed and pushed some of Lucy's hair out of her face. "I know, my love," she whispered. She wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I know."

"It's been a whole year," Lucy whispered. "And it still hurts so much."

"I know," Minerva said quietly, "but I don't think that laying in bed like this is going to help you feel better. Sometimes the best way to move on is to get up and make yourself move on."

More tears fell down Lucy's cheeks and she shook her head violently. She hugged a stuffed tabby cat close to her chest and buried her face in her pillow again. Minerva sighed and put a hand on the back of her head.

"Okay, darling," she said. "You can stay home today. You don't have to go to school, it's okay. I understand. I'll have Raj call the school and let them know you're not feeling well. I'll have breakfast brought up and I'll ask Remus and Dorcas to stay here with you while I go teach, okay? I'll be back at lunch."

Lucy nodded a little.

Minerva leaned down and kissed the top of Lucy's head. "It will get better, Lucy," she said. "It might hurt now and it might keep hurting for a long time but eventually it'll start hurting a little less."

Lucy pulled the blankets closer around her. She felt so cold. She just wanted to get warm again but nothing she did was working. Minerva helped her fix the blankets before getting up, saying one last goodbye, and leaving the room. She walked to her office, called a House Elf to bring breakfast for Lucy, and sent Raj a patronus. She waited at her desk for a little while before Remus and Dorcas finally arrived.

"Come in," she said.

The door opened and they walked in with smiles on their faces. They said their cheerful greetings and Minerva had to remind herself not to be angry with them for their cheerfulness. They didn't know what day it was. They couldn't be blamed.

"Lucy is not feeling well today," Minerva said with a sigh. "She will not be going to school today, I'm sorry."

"Oh, is she alright?" Dorcas asked.

"She'll be fine but she's not feeling up to going down to the daycare either and it's not serious enough to bother Poppy in the Hospital Wing so would you two mind staying here with her," Minerva asked. "I know I'm already asking a lot of you both but I have to go teach and I can't leave her here alone."

"Of course," Remus said quickly. "Of course we'll stay here with her. I mean we'd be staying with her all day anyways. It'll be nice not having to do it out in the cold."

"Yes, your office is a lot nicer than the outskirts of Lucy's school playground," Dorcas said with a smile.

"Thank you," Minerva said with a small smile, getting up from her desk. "Thank you both. I really appreciate it. You can stay in my sitting room." She pulled the torch on the wall. "It's just through there. There are a lot of books and some of Lucy's games. Help yourself to any of them. Lucy's in her room. If you need anything you can ask a House Elf. I asked Dotty to bring Lucy some breakfast but I'm not sure if she'll eat it. Maybe try talking to her. She might listen to you. I'll come back at lunch to see how she is."

"Alright," Dorcas said. "Have a nice day, Minerva."

"Bye, Minerva," Remus said.

Minerva said goodbye as Dorcas and Remus walked into her private rooms and then left her office to get to work. She wished she could just lay in bed all day too but she had work to do. Students to teach. Minds to mold. Time didn't stop for anyone. It kept moving and Minerva had to move with it.

...

"Minerva sent a message to me this morning. Lucy's not doing that great today either," Raj said quietly into the phone. He was sitting in his office at Collins Enterprises talking to Daniel. "I called her school to tell them that she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be coming to class today."

"Ah, poor kid," Daniel said with a sigh. "I wish we were up at Hogwarts now. I think we would all do better if we were together right now."

"I know, me too," Raj said with a sigh. "How are you doing, Daniel?"

"I'm okay. I decided not to go to class today either. Actually just got out of bed," he mumbled. "Nina's gone and I'm just laying on the couch."

"I'm glad you're taking a little bit of a rest," he said.

Daniel sighed. "I can't believe it's been a year."

"Neither can I," Raj said.

"Do you think it'll ever stop, Uncle Raj?" Daniel asked quietly. "Will this day ever stop being this day?"

"I don't know, bud," he said with a sigh. "All I know is that sometimes it take a little bit of work to keep going. I guess at the beginning you have to keep pushing yourself and forcing yourself to keep moving forward until it just becomes habit."

"Should I have gone to class today?"

"No, it's okay. It's still only been a year. It still feels really fresh."

"I'm glad tomorrow is a Saturday," he mumbled.

"You know what, I'll call Amelia," Raj said. "I'll have her pick us up and take us to Hogwarts for the weekend. I think it might be nice. For all of us."

"I just hope Amelia isn't too busy. I know they all have a lot of stuff on their plate right now."

"I know, but I don't think Amelia would mind," he said. "I think she'll understand."

"Okay," Daniel said. He sighed again. "I miss him so much."

"I miss him too, bud," Raj said with a sigh. "I miss him too."

...

"Never been in here before," Remus said, sitting down on the couch in Minerva's sitting room. "I knew it was here and we tried to get in multiple times of course but we never made it past her security charms."

Dorcas laughed. "How did you know it was here?"

"Minerva accidentally showed James and Sirius after she caught them stuffing cats in her office. She was putting Lucy down for a nap so they saw that it was there and how to get in," Remus said. "However, after she caught them in her office she secured it pretty tight. We weren't able to get in after that."

Dorcas smiled. "Well," she said. "You're here now. Is it everything you had dreamed it would be?"

"I don't know what I expected," he said with a laugh. "Well, should we check on Lucy? Let her know we're here if she needs anything and make sure she's eaten breakfast."

"Yes," Dorcas said with a nod. She and Remus walked towards the hallway and looked at the three doors. "Which one is it?"

"Don't know," he said. He walked up to the one on the left side of the hall and opened it. It was just a bathroom. He walked across the hall to the room across from it and opened the door. He looked inside and then back at Dorcas. "Found it."

He and Dorcas went inside and Remus said, "hey, Lucy. Your mum asked Dorcas and I to stay with you while she went to teach. How do you feel?"

Lucy looked up at the door and shrugged. Dorcas noticed the untouched breakfast tray on her bedside table and sighed. "You didn't eat anything?"

"Not hungry," Lucy muttered, looking away.

"It might help you feel a little bit better to eat a bit," Remus said, walking towards the bed. Dorcas followed and picked the tray up from the table. She sat down beside Lucy on the bed.

"Look at all this," she said with a smile. "You can have your pick of whatever you like. Pancakes, waffles, cereal, bacon and eggs. Whatever you like."

Lucy shook her head.

"Why don't you try to sit up at least," Remus said. "Do you feel like you're gonna throw up? Should we get a bag just in case?"

Lucy shook her head again. They waited a second and finally she pushed herself up a bit. Remus fixed the pillows behind her so she would be more comfortable and Dorcas set the tray down in her lap. She picked up a bit of a pancake and tossed it in her mouth.

"It's pretty good," she said. "Would you like a piece of bacon, Remus? I'm sure Lucy won't mind."

"I'd love one, thank you," he said with a smile, taking the bacon from Dorcas. He tossed it in his mouth and then walked around to the other side of the bed so he could climb up too. "It sucks that you're not feeling well, Lucy, but we can still try to have a fun day. We can take advantage of this day off."

"Yes," Dorcas said with a smile. "We can play a game or something."

"I don't want to play a game," Lucy mumbled.

"Are you sick?" Remus asked. She didn't sound or look very sick.

She shook her head.

"How did you manage to convince your mother to give you the day off? That's incredible," Dorcas said with a laugh.

"It's the twenty seventh," Lucy whispered, looking away. Tears were filling her eyes again and she just wanted Remus and Dorcas to go away. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now. She wished her mother hadn't had to leave to teach.

"It is," Remus said with a frown. "What does that mean?"

Lucy sighed and covered her face with her hands. She brought her knees up to her chest and Dorcas quickly moved the tray of food so it wouldn't fall all over the bed. She set it back down on the table and looked at Lucy with concern. Lucy started sobbing and neither Dorcas nor Remus knew what to do. Dorcas looked at Remus, who just stared back at her with wide eyes. He was useless. Dorcas sighed and moved closer to Lucy, putting an arm around her and pulling her close.

"Hey, hey," she said softly. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay. Just tell me what's wrong. I'll try to make it better."

Lucy sniffed and wiped her eyes. She shook her head. "You can't," she whispered. "You can't make it better. Nobody can."

"Just tell us what's wrong, Lucy," Remus said, moving to her other side. "Maybe we can help in some way."

"Is it more stuff with the girls at school?" Dorcas asked.

Lucy shook her head. "N-no..." she whispered. "I... no... last year... last year... on this day my - my daddy died in the hospital."

"Oh..." Dorcas said quietly. That wasn't something she could fix. She sighed and hugged Lucy tightly. "Oh, Lucy, I'm so sorry."

Lucy didn't say anything. She leaned closer to Dorcas and Dorcas sighed. She looked up at Remus. Remus sighed too and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. They sat there for a while until finally Lucy was cried out. She pulled away a little bit and wiped her cheeks. She hugged her knees to her chest.

"My daddy was a great person," she said quietly. "He always cared about everyone and loved everyone."

"He sounds like a great guy," Remus said with a small smile. "He was a businessman, right?"

Lucy nodded. "He was the CEO of Collins Enterprises," she said. "He built it all by himself and then hired other people to help him. Like Uncle Raj. They were friends and Daddy gave him the job because he thought that Uncle Raj would do a good job."

"That was really nice of him," Dorcas said with a smile. "Collins Enterprises makes cars, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," she said. "Daddy used to be a mechanic when he was younger. He would fix neighbour's cars to make money for school."

"Wow, really?" Dorcas asked.

Lucy nodded. "He and my _dadi_ didn't have a lot of money," she said. "So he would fix cars to make some extra money for them."

" _Dadi_ means grandmother in Hindi," Dorcas told Remus.

"Oh," he said. "I thought that _nani_ meant grandmother."

" _Nani_ means mother's mother and _dadi_ means father's mother," Dorcas explained.

Lucy nodded. "My _dadi_ came to England with my _dado_ during the war because _Dado_ was a soldier," she said. "He died in the war a little while after Daddy was born. They never got to meet."

"That's horrible," Remus said.

"War is horrible," Lucy mumbled.

"It is," Dorcas said with a sigh.

There was silence for a little while before Lucy spoke again. "Daddy liked fixing cars," she said. "He used to buy old cars and bring them home so he could fix them up in his free time. Mommy said that he always paid way too much money for the cars and she didn't like it when he came back into the house covered in oil and grease."

Dorcas smiled. "I can imagine."

"He used to run after her and try to touch her with his dirty hands," Lucy said with a little smile. "And she would yell at him."

Remus laughed. He couldn't imagine his old, strict Transfigurations Mistress running around with her husband.

"I would help him fix cars sometimes," she said. "Well, I would sit in the garage with him and hand him the tools he needed."

"That sounds nice," Dorcas said.

Lucy nodded. "I liked sitting with him," she said. "He taught me what to do and told me stories about when he was younger and about my _dadi_ and I would tell him about my day."

Dorcas saw the tears fill her eyes again and put her arm back around her.

"I miss talking to him," she whispered. "I miss when he would come home and play with me. He was supposed to get better. Everyone said that he would and then he did and then he didn't again."

Dorcas held her close and rubbed her back as she started to cry again. Remus put a hand on her shoulder and they sat there for a very long time.

The door to Lucy's bedroom opened again and in walked Minerva. She saw them sitting on the bed and sighed. Lucy looked up at her and took her arms off Dorcas, reaching out for her mother instead. Minerva walked over and picked her up from Dorcas's lap. She looked at Dorcas and Remus apologetically.

"I'm very -"

"It's not a problem," Dorcas said, putting a hand up to stop her. She motioned to the bed. "Would you like to sit down?"

Minerva gave her a little smiled and sat down on the bed, setting Lucy down in her lap. Lucy hugged her tightly and Minerva wrapped her arms around her.

"Have you eaten anything?" she asked her daughter.

Lucy didn't say anything so Minerva looked up at Dorcas and Remus who both shook their heads. Minerva sighed again.

"I'll have Dotty bring lunch," Remus said, getting up. He walked around the bed and picked up the breakfast tray so he could have the Elf take it away from them. "Anything specific you want?"

"Whatever they're serving downstairs today," Minerva said softly. "I don't particularly care."

He nodded and walked out of the room. Dorcas looked over at Minerva and Lucy and sighed. She put a hand on Lucy's back. "I'm very sorry," she said, looking at Minerva. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now."

"Thank you, Dorcas," Minerva said, giving her a small smile.

Remus came back with lunch and set the tray down on the bed between the four of them. Minerva put Lucy down beside her and tried to get her to eat but Lucy wouldn't eat very much, saying that she wasn't hungry. Minerva had a free period right after lunch so she was able to stay a little longer. Remus and Dorcas decided to go into the sitting room and give them some privacy.

Minerva sat back on Lucy's bed, leaning on the headboard. Lucy laid beside her with her head in her mother lap. Minerva drank her coffee and ran her fingers through Lucy's hair.

"Will it always be this hard?" Lucy asked quietly.

"I don't think so," Minerva said. "I think in time we will learn to keep going on hard days like today."

"Can I tell you about the day he died?" she asked.

"Of course," Minerva said, "but only if you want to. If it's hard to talk about it you don't have to."

Lucy thought about it for a second, wrapped her arms around Minerva's leg tightly. "I think I want too," she whispered. "I used to have nightmares about it every night."

Minerva sighed and put a hand on Lucy's head.

"It was a Thursday," she whispered, "but we didn't go to school like all week because the doctors thought that he wasn't going to... make it much longer. Uncle Raj was there too. We were all standing around his bed. He told us that he was proud of us. He told Daniel that his mum would be proud of him and asked him to take care of me for him."

Minerva felt the tears in her eyes. She set her coffee down on the table and pulled Lucy closer to her. Lucy sat up and hugged Minerva's chest. She didn't look at her when she spoke.

"He said that Nina was an amazing young woman and that Daniel should keep her around."

"She is an amazing young woman."

Lucy nodded. "He asked Uncle Raj to take care of us and said thank you to him for everything he did for us."

"Your Uncle Raj kept that promise, didn't he?" Minerva whispered, running her fingers through her hair.

Lucy nodded again. "Uncle Raj is always taking care of us."

"He is."

"Daddy talked about you too," she whispered.

"Did he?" Minerva asked with a little smile. The tears were overflowing onto her cheeks now and she wiped them away quickly.

Lucy nodded. "He said you would come back and that we just had to take care of each other until then," she said. "He said that when you come back we should tell you that he said he missed you and he loved you and he was sorry that he couldn't see you one last time before he had to go."

The tears streamed down Minerva face now and she didn't even try to stop them. There was no use. She loved that man so much. "I... I miss him and l-love him too."

Lucy looked up at her and saw that she was crying. She got up in her knees, reached up and wiped the tears off Minerva's cheeks with her little fingers. Minerva gave her a sad little smiled, arms still wrapped tightly around her. She rested her forehead on Lucy's.

"I miss him and love him too," Lucy whispered. "I wish you got to see him before he died."

"Me too," Minerva whispered.

"He told me I was smart and beautiful and that I would do great things and that I had to do them even if he wasn't there to see me do them," she said.

"He's right," Minerva whispered. "He's always right."

"He said that some people search their whole lives for a little bit of magic but I have all that magic inside me and he knew that with it I will do such great things," she continued. "Daniel too. He said that even though Daniel couldn't do magic, he had magic inside of him."

"Daniel does. So, so much magic," Minerva whispered. Lucy rested her head on Minerva's shoulder and Minerva put a hand on the back of her head. "He is so good. So, so good."

"Daddy said that I should always remember that I'm destined for greatness."

Minerva smiled. "You are."

"But I don't know how to be great."

"You're already great, Lucy," she said softly. "So, so great and I'm so proud of you. And he would be too."

"Do you wanna know the very last thing he did before he died?" Lucy asked.

Minerva nodded.

"He apologized. He said he was sorry," Lucy whispered. "He said, 'I think I may have to go soon, my darlings. Will you forgive me for leaving?'"

Of course he did, Minerva thought. Of course the last thing Jay Collins would do would be apologize for dying. Minerva couldn't help it, she let out a sob. Lucy hugged her tighter and Minerva did the same. They sat there and cried for a very long time before Minerva finally called Dorcas in and told her to spread the word that the rest of her classes for the day would be cancelled. Her students were to go to study hall instead. Dorcas took one look at Minerva tear stained face, nodded, and quickly left the room. Minerva need to take the rest of the day off. She needed to be here with her daughter. She could deal with everything else later.


	18. TLT -- 18

**_Monday, November 30th 1998_**

Minerva rubbed her face with her hands. She looked down at the photo of the Order of the Phoenix that they had taken a few months ago. She stared at the smiling face of Marlene McKinnon for a second before looking at all the other faces. Benjy Fenwick, dead, Caradoc Dearborn, still missing, Mary MacDonald, dead, Edgar Bones, dead along with the rest of his family, and now Marlene McKinnon and the rest of the Mckinnon family. Another safe house found and its inhabitants destroyed.

Minerva was sat in Dumbledore's office, thinking about how horrible everything was. He was sitting at his desk looking through folders from the Ministry. It felt like every time they made even a little bit of progress, something like this happened.

"Minerva -"

Before he could finish, the door swung open and in walked Sirius Black. He looked absolutely terrible. His hair was a frizzy mess and there were deep circles under his eyes. His usually well-groomed beard was overgrown and messy.

"Sirius, how -"

Again, Dumbledore was unable to finish his thought as Sirius stormed to the desk and slammed his palms down on it. "I'm ready for my next assignment, Dumbledore," he said. "You've given everyone else a new one except for me."

"Sirius," Minerva said softly, reaching out a hand and setting it on his arm. "We just wanted -"

Sirius smacked her hand away. He didn't look away from Dumbledore. "I need a new assignment, Dumbledore."

"Sirius," Dumbledore said. "You need time. Don't -"

"No. I don't need time," he said angrily. "I don't need to sit and wallow and feel sorry for myself. I need to work. I need to keep busy. I need... I need..."

Tears filled his eyes and his voice trailed off. Minerva stood up quickly and walked over to him. She pulled him away from the desk and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and sobbed.

"Shh..." she said. "It's okay, Sirius. It'll be okay... Hush, now. Don't cry. We'll be okay."

"I n-need h-her!" he sobbed. "I've never... No one's ever... Minerva!"

She put her hand on the back of his head. "I know it hurts and I know you miss her, so do I. She was a wonderful person who loved you very much and we will win this thing, okay? We will win it for her and for everyone else who didn't make it."

Sirius cried for a while, head buried in her chest. Minerva looked over at Dumbledore who just gave her a sad look. She closed her eyes and rubbed circles on his back.

Just then the door opened again and in ran Remus and Dorcas. They saw Sirius in Minerva's arms and stopped in their tracks. Dorcas sighed and looked at Dumbledore. "Sorry for barging in, Professor. We were just..."

"That's alright," he said.

Remus walked over to Sirius and Minerva and put his hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Hey, James and Lily wanted us all to come over for tea. Said Harry really missed his Uncle Sirius. Maybe we should head over now."

Sirius suddenly realised what he was doing. He let go of Minerva quickly and pulled away. "I - I'm sorry."

She smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Sirius. Go be with your friends. It will help. I know it will."

He wiped the tears off his face quickly before nodding. He looked up at Remus who gave him a small smile and squeezed his shoulder a little. He pulled Sirius into a hug before leading him out of the office. Dorcas put an arm around him when they got close enough and started walking with them out the office.

When they were gone, Minerva sat back down with a sigh and looked up at Dumbledore. He sighed and shook his head. "We will find an end, Minerva. We will."

"It feels much too far away, Albus," Minerva mumbled, rubbing her face.

...

"Sirius," Lucy whispered, shaking the sleeping man.

Sirius jerked awake quickly and looked around frantically. He found himself at Hogwarts, sleeping on a classroom desk. He hadn't done that in a while. He looked down at the little girl that woke him and gave her a small smile. "Hey, kid. Just get home from school?"

Lucy nodded. "I was going down to meet with Tonks, Bill and Charlie but I heard you snoring from the hall."

"Oh, was I really snoring that loud?" he asked. "You know, Marls..." He stopped dead in his tracks. He had forgotten and then just now remembered. He felt the loneliness set in yet again and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, frowning.

He looked down at her and realized something. She didn't know. Minerva hadn't told her. This made him angry. How could she not tell her? How could she not respect Marlene's memory enough to tell Lucy that she wasn't gone because she was staying with her family or because she was traveling or something stupid like that? She was gone because she was dead and Lucy should know that.

"Lucy," he started, looking away from her and glaring down at his hands. "Marlene is dead."

"What?" Lucy said, furrowing her brow. "No, no." She shook her head and took his hand. "No, Sirius. She's not dead. She's coming over this weekend remember? She told me. She promised."

"No. She's not coming over this weekend," Sirius said, pulling his hand away from her. "She's never coming over again."

"No. I don't believe you. You're lying!" Lucy said angrily. "You're trying to pull a prank on me but it's not a very nice one Sirius. Please stop."

"No, Lucy," he growled, slamming his palms on the desk making her jump slightly. He turned to glare at her as he stood up. "This is not a joke. It's not a prank. This is real. She's gone and she's never coming back."

Tears filled Lucy's eyes and she shook her head violently. "No! I don't want to - she can't be - we were going to..."

Suddenly all of Sirius's anger disappeared as quickly as it had come. His face relaxed and he stared at the crying girl. He was such an idiot. Why did he do that? He shouldn't have yelled at her. He knew why Minerva hadn't told her about Marlene's dead and he should have just left it as is.

Sirius sighed and walked over to Lucy. He kneeled down in front of her and put his arms on her shoulders. "I'm sorry for yelling," he whispered. "I shouldn't have been so harsh."

"Is she... is she really...?"

Sirius closed his eyes and nodded. "She is."

Lucy quickly moved to hug Sirius tightly, burying her face in his chest. He was caught off guard but recovered quickly and hugged her back. They sat there for a long time hugging each other and crying in silence. Eventually Sirius was cried out. He pulled away a little and wiped the tears off his own face. He looked down at Lucy and sighed again. He wiped the tears off Lucy's face too and said, "Come on. Let's go find Tonks, Bill, and Charlie."

Lucy nodded and Sirius stood up. He took her hand and led them out of the classroom to find Lucy's friends.

...

"Dorcas," Remus said quietly. They were sitting in a classroom that had been outfitted with a bed and wardrobe for Dorcas to stay in while she was at Hogwarts. They both had a drink in hand. "I've been thinking..."

"Oh, that usually ends badly," she said with a small smile, leaning back in her chair.

He gave her a look but then smiled and shook his head. He sighed and his smile faded. "I've always known that there was always a huge possibility that we would all die in this stupid war... I have but after Mary and then Marlene it just... it just really hit me, I think."

Dorcas sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"And if I'm going to die," Remus continued, "I think that I would want to do the things that I would regret not doing."

"Like what?" Dorcas asked.

Remus took a deep breath and moved his chair a little closer. "You remember last month when you asked me if I liked someone and I said that I did. Well, I think that I'm going to tell the girl I like before it's too late."

Dorcas smiled. "I think that's a good idea," she said, setting her glass down on a desk. "So are you going go to tell me who this girl is?"

Remus nodded. He smiled a little and set his glass down too. He stood up and walked to her chair, taking her hands in his. Dorcas's eyes widened but before she could say anything, Remus spoke. "I really like you, Dorcas. I love you. I love how strong and smart you are. I love how kind and brave you are. I love the way you pull your hair over your shoulder. I love the way you don't care what other people think of you. I love spending time with you and I love talking to you. I know that I'm way too dangerous to be around and I know that I can't give you everything that a normal man could and I know that you might like someone else but I just had to say it out loud. I just had to tell you."

A smile spread across her lips. Dorcas stood up and wrapped her arms around his chest. He smiled and hugged her back. He felt the warmth of her body and for the first time in a long time he felt at home. He felt warm and safe in her arms. She looked up into Remus's bright eyes and whispered, "I love you too, Remus. I've loved you for a very long time and I love you for who you are. I know you think you're dangerous to be around but you are the kindest, bravest, and most wonderful man I've ever met."

He smiled wider and she put her arms up on his shoulders, coming up on her tippy toes. He leans down and they kiss. It was the most amazing kiss Remus had ever had. He felt like fireworks were going off inside his head. He felt her soft lips and tasted her strawberry lipstick. He let go of her waist and cupped her cheeks in his hands. She smiled into the kiss and he wanted it to never end. He wanted to stay here like this forever and forget about the darkness outside them. It felt like a fire was lit inside his chest that had driven the darkness away.

And then it stopped. She pulled away. Remus saw the smile fade from her face and he knew. He knew that they couldn't do this now. He knew that, though it felt like the darkness had been driven away, it was still there, waiting to encompass them. They needed to fight it first before they could do this for real. In a soft voice he whispered, "but we can't do this right now."

Dorcas sighed and took his hand again. She gave them a little squeeze. "I love you, Remus," she whispered. "But... right now, we can't. I mean, I see how Sirius is right now and if I die I don't want you to be like that too. I think that it will hurt less if we are just friends."

"Just until the war ends."

"Just until the war ends."

Remus smiled a little. "It gives us something more to fight for, I guess."

Dorcas smiled as well. "It does," she said. She shook her head but smiled. "When this war is over, I am going to love you so hard Remus Lupin. You don't even know."

Remus laughed. He was okay with this. He was okay with waiting just as long as she knew that he loved her and he knew that she loved him. They could focus on the war and then, when they both made it to the other side, they would be happy and have the life he had always imagined.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, December 19th 1998_**

"Ready to go, Lucy?" Minerva asked, walking into Lucy's bedroom.

"Do I have to wear this?" Lucy whined, pulling at the neck of her black dress that her mother had forced her into. "Why couldn't I just wear trousers? I bet Daniel is going to wear trousers!"

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "Yes, you have to wear the dress. It's a fancy Christmas dinner. Everyone will be dressing up nicely. I'll bet Nina will be wearing a dress."

Lucy grumbled and walked towards her mother. Minerva smiled and took her hand. They walked out of her bedroom, out of the private quarters, and through Minerva's office. They walked through the castle and across the grounds. Soft snow fell as they walked. Lucy looked up at the sky and smiled.

"I like snow," she said.

"It's nice," Minerva said with a smile. She watched the snowfall and settle in Lucy's hair and eyelashes. She reached over and fixed her knitted hat. "It's a little cold though." Lucy pushed the hat up away from her eyes, reached down and grabbed a handful of snow. Minerva gave her a look. "Don't you dare!"

Lucy smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, stopping and letting her mother walk ahead of her.

"Lucy, if you -"

Minerva felt the snowball hit her back, turned back, and glared at her. She shook her head, pulled out her wand, and with a flick of it, a horde of snowballs flew up from the ground around her and aimed themselves at Lucy. Lucy's eyes widened.

"It was only -"

Minerva flicked her wand again and the snowballs fly towards her. Lucy screamed and put up her hands to cover her face. To her surprise, the snowballs didn't hit her. She looked up and saw that they were frozen inches away from her face. Minerva looked at her with a frown. She flicked her wand again but nothing happened. Lucy smiled, hands still raised up. She made a swift waving motion and suddenly the snowballs started to move past her. They then came back around from her other side and pelted towards Minerva.

Minerva smiled and flicked her wand again. Snow from in front of her rose into the air, creating a wall to block the snowballs. She listened to the loud thuds of upwards of fifty snowballs hitting the wall at full speed, breaking into bits and falling to the ground. "Nice try."

Minerva let the snow wall fall but Lucy was just waiting for her to do so. Three snowballs that had stopped moments before hitting her wall flew forward and hit her in the chest. "Ah!"

Lucy smiled at her. "I think you let your guard down too -"

Snow came up and fell around her making her fall to the ground and burying her body. All that could be seen was Lucy's head. Minerva walked over and smiled. Lucy gave her a look.

"I was winning," she said.

"But then I won," Minerva replied.

"Not really fair."

"Why did you expect the fight to be fair?" Minerva asked with a smile. She flicked her wand and the snow rolled off of her. She stuck out her hand to Lucy.

Lucy took it and Minerva helped her up. Lucy smiled. "I did surprise you though," she said. "The look on your face was pretty funny."

"You did get a pretty good shot in, I will admit. You did the _Arresto Momentum_ spell non-verbally, that was excellent," Minerva replied as they continued their walk towards the gates, hand in hand. "Though, I still won."

Lucy rolled her eyes. She made a fist with her free hand and, with a look of pure determination on her face, said, "I will beat you... one day. Just wait."

Minerva laughed. "Alright," she said. "We'll see."

They finally got out of the Hogwarts gates and Apparated to Canterbury where they picked up Nina and Daniel. From there they took a Portkey to London and walked up to a small flat. Minerva knocked on the door and they waited.

The door opened and Lily Potter smiled at the four of them. "Hey!" she said, opening the door further and motioning them in front he cold. "Come in, come in. Peter and Remus are already here and the others are probably on their way."

They all came inside, took off their boots and coats, and then followed Lily into the living room. James, Peter, and Remus were sitting on the couches while a baby Harry babbled and played with toys on the floor. They sat down, Lucy sitting in an armchair beside Minerva. Lily sat down on the floor beside the baby.

"So Daniel, Nina, how is school going?" James asked.

"Busy as always," Daniel replied with a sigh.

"But the semester is over so we can finally relax," Nina said with a smile.

"What school do you go to?" Peter asked.

"King's College here in London," Nina said. That's the school that she, Daniel, and Minerva had decided to tell people, just in case the information got leaked again.

Peter nodded. "And you study?"

"Nina studies nursing and I'm in business," Daniel replied.

"Lucy, why don't you go play with Harry," Minerva suggested, looking down at the little girl. She saw that she was already getting a little bored just sitting around listening to the adults talk. "That way Lily can get a little break."

Lucy looked over at the baby uncertainly. Harry was lying on the ground, babbling with one foot bent up in his mouth. She slid off her mother's chair, walked over to the baby and looked him over. He laughed and let go of his leg when he saw her. Lily smiled and thanked her before walking over to sit next to James. Lucy gave Harry a look and sat down on the floor a few feet away from him. She picking up a rattle and shook it a little. Harry laughed and clapped his hands, making Lucy smile. She handed him the rattle and he grasped her finger instead.

"That's not the toy," Lucy whispered. She used her other hand to pry Harry's hand off her finger and wrap it around the rattle instead. Harry laughed. He didn't do much with the rattle so Lucy gently shook his arm causing the rattle to make noise. This made Harry very happy. When Lucy let go of his hand, Harry stuck the rattle in his mouth. Lucy made a disgusted face and shook her head. Lucy turned back to look at the adults, who were now too busy talking amongst themselves to notice her or the baby. She frowned. She didn't want to babysit. While her back was turned Harry moved and grabbed a handful of her hair. He pulled hard making Lucy gasp. She turned quickly. "Ouch, ouch! That's not very nice, Harry. Please stop."

She tried to get his fingers out of her hair but he was tangled up and moving too much for her to pull away. He kept getting farther away, making his pull on her hair more forceful. She held her hair with one hand, trying to pull it back from him, and used the other to try to untangle his fingers but she couldn't see what she was doing. Harry was having a lot of fun pulling Lucy's hair. He laughed and babbled as Lucy struggled. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop!"

Nina came over quickly and kneeled down beside her. She laughed and helped her get out of Harry's deadly baby grip. "There we go."

Lucy backed away and rubbed her head. She glared at the baby who was still laughing. "Pulling hair isn't very nice, Harry."

Nina laughed. "He's just a baby. He grabs everything. It's not his fault."

Lucy kept glaring at the baby. She smoothed out her hair and stood up. She walked away from Harry and Nina back to her mother. Lily looked at her and smiled. "Sorry about that," she said. "I should have warned you he's a hair puller."

"He pulls everyone's hair," James said with a laugh.

"It means that he likes you," Remus added.

"I don't think that's a nice way of telling someone you like them," Lucy said grumpily, walking over to her mother.

Minerva smiled at her and ran her fingers through Lucy's hair to untangle it. "It's alright, darling. It's just what babies do."

"Oh, Lucy, don't be such a baby. We don't need two right now," Daniel said with a laugh. Lucy glared at him and stuck out her tongue.

James laughed. "You two are definitely siblings," he said. He turned to Remus. "Did I tell you about the one day when Sirius and I were guarding their house and Daniel and Lucy decided to try sledding down the stairs?"

"They tried what?" Nina said with a frown, looking up from where she was sitting playing with baby Harry.

Daniel and Lucy both gave James a look and he said quickly, "Nothing, nothing. I think I was misremembering something."

Everyone but Nina, Lucy and Daniel laughed. Nina looked over at Minerva expectantly. "What happened?"

"It was nothing," Minerva said with a small smile. "Don't worry."

Nina was about to say something when the doorbell rang. Lily got up to get it and Lucy followed her excitedly. They got to the front door and Lily let Lucy answer it. Dorcas and Sirius were standing in the doorway smiling at them.

"Hey, Dorcas! Hey, Sirius!" Lucy said.

"Hey, Lucy," Dorcas said with a smile. "Hi, Lily. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," Lily said. "Come on in."

"Hey, kid," Sirius said, tousling Lucy's hair.

Lucy smiled. She waited for them to take off their shoes and coat before grabbing Dorcas's hand and pulling her towards the living room while telling her all about her Christmas plans with Daniel, Nina, and Minerva. "... and then on Christmas day we're going to my _Nani_ 's house. She's really nice and all my cousins and uncles and aunts are going to be there. It's been a really long time since we've seen her. She lives in Scotland. I like Scotland. It's nice. It has loads of empty farm fields and forests where we can play. Last time we had a huge snowball fight! _Nani_ 's house is right by the ocean! You can see it from the window in my bedroom!"

"That sounds really cool, Lucy," Dorcas said with a smile as they walked into the living room. "Hello, everyone."

They greeted Sirius and Dorcas and then went back to talking. Other people began to arrive too. Lucy excitedly said hello to her Aunty Amelia and told her all about her and Minerva's snow fight. Amelia seemed very impressed by the way Lucy was able to hold her own against her mother which made Lucy beam even more.

"Three snowballs, huh?" she asked with a smile. Lucy nodded happily. "Nice job, Lucy! That was smart, letting her think that you had wasted all your snowballs and waiting for her to let her guard down before attacking."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a proud smile.

"I still won," Minerva said, furrowing her brow.

"Congratulations," Amelia said with a laugh, coming over and sitting down next to her on the couch. "You won a duel against your seven year old daughter."

"I don't have time for your sarcasm right now," Minerva said, giving Amelia a little shove. Amelia just laughed and shoved her back.

Next to arrive was Hagrid. He came bearing the gift of alcohol, "Madam Rosmerta's finest mead, of course." He cheerfully greeted everyone and patted Lucy on the head with a large hand, causing her to stagger slightly. Lucy didn't mind though. She asked him about his crazy magical creature pets that Minerva said she could not get since they were too dangerous. Hagrid was raising baby Hippogriffs! He told her that he would introduce her to them when they were back at Hogwarts. She was very excited, she'd never seen baby Hippogriffs before!

Alastor Moody shuffled into the house next, grumbling about the snowy weather outside. His eye and missing leg still scared Lucy a bit but, despite his rough exterior, Lucy liked him a lot. He told her stories that were very not age appropriate which usually resulted in either Minerva, Nina, Amelia, or Dorcas yelling at him and him yelling back that Lucy ought to know. Lucy agreed. She wanted to know everything about the war and Moody seemed to be the only one who would tell her the unadulterated version.

Mundungus Fletcher and Dedalus Diggle were the next to arrive. Mundungus was quite short with bandy legs and long, unkempt red hair. He smelt of cigar smoke and liquor and told Lucy to call him 'Dung'. Lucy thought that was funny and figured that Mundungus himself was quite the funny man. Dorcas told her that he had a knack for getting into bad situations or doing some not so legal things. Apparently he like to buy and sell a lot on the black market. Diggle was also fun but in a more well dressed and legal sort of way. Though Minerva described him, in a loud whisper, as "never having much sense", Lucy liked him. He was tiny and excitable and wore a lavish purple top hat.

Dumbledore arrived next with Elphias Doge and Sturgis Podmore. Doge was a jolly man with a large gut. He had greying hair and a short, bushy beard. He came bearing gifts and wearing a red hat, completely embracing his likeness to Father Christmas. He brought a rattle for Harry that lit up different colours when shook and a bracelet for Lucy with a small circular charm that when opened would alert her to the presence of an untrustworthy person. Lucy opened it and right away the grey smoke inside the locket changed to red which indicated that an untrustworthy person was around. Lucy figured that it was just alerting her to Mundungus's presence, thanked Doge for the gift and went to show Dorcas and Nina the bracelet. Podmore had just gotten off his shift guarding the Hogwarts gate and was very tired. He flopped down on the couch and accepted a glass of mead immediately upon entering the house. He had a very square jaw and thick straw coloured hair that reminded Lucy of a thatched roof. After a few minutes of drinking to regain his strength, his loud voice joined three different conversations at once. He asked Lucy about herself and her school while talking Order business with Moody, Doge, and Dumbledore, and Department of Magical Law Enforcement with Amelia and Minerva. He was quite the juggler of conversation.

Last to arrive were Frank and Alice Longbottom with their son Neville who was the same age as Harry. Now the house had two babies, or three according to Daniel. Frank and Alice were very nice and greeted Lucy warmly. They asked her about herself as well and answered her questions on Auror work. They had been working in the Auror Office for ten years each. Alice was very cool. She was soft spoken and small but Lucy could tell that she was not someone you would want to mess with. Frank was very tall and thin with irregular teeth and hair that spiked up messily. He was very kind and smart. By the time this night came to an end, he would have been the only person to ever beat Lucy at a game of chess. Of course if she had known that beforehand she probably wouldn't have played him.

Now that everyone was here conversations were in full swing and refills very regular. Lucy was sent off to play with Harry and Neville. She agreed but stayed farther away from the babies this time. Harry laid on his stomach, reaching for the different toys on the ground. Neville lay opposite him, gurgling and sticking things in his mouth. Lucy laid down on her stomach too and watched them babble back and forth. She cocked her head to the side and looked at them with an expression of trying to understand. She didn't get babies. They were cute, sure, but they were also loud and messy and smelly. She wasn't exactly sure why people would want one. She definitely did not want one. She watched them closely and mirroring their movements.

Lucy then remembered reading about Jane Goodall, who researched chimpanzee behaviour by living among them. She could do that with these babies and maybe learn a more about them. Maybe that would help her figure out what all the fus was about anyway. She got up and walked around to where James and Sirius were sitting.

"James?" she asked, tugging on his shirt.

He looked down and smiled at her. "Yes?"

"Do you have an empty notebook I can write in?" Lucy asked. If she was going to be Jane Goodall she obviously needed something to write down all her findings in.

"Sure, I could probably find you one," he said, standing up. "Wait right here."

Lucy nodded and watched him walk out of the room. Sirius gave her a look. "What do you need a notebook for?"

"Research," Lucy replied.

"What kind of research would you be doing?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

Lucy shrugged, not really wanting to tell Sirius about what she was going to do. He would probably make fun of her. He opened his mouth to respond but she was saved by James coming back with a small black spiral notebook and a pen. He handed them to her and she thanked him before running back to the babies and laying back down on her stomach. She opened up her notebook, looked at her watch and then back at the babies.

"Seven thirty six, babies put toys in months," Lucy said quietly as she wrote, pretending to log her findings. "Not quite sure the significance of this but they seem to enjoy it." Harry giggled. She looked up at him for a moment before returning to her writing. "Apparently it's funny to eat your toys."

Neville babbled unintelligibly and rolled over. Lucy smiled a little and sat up properly, pushing toys closer to the two babies. Harry put a stuffed dragon toy in his mouth and then made angry noises at Neville. Lucy frowned and looked at her watch.

"Seven thirty eight, babies turn on each other," Lucy mumbled, pen moving swiftly across the page. Harry kept making whining sounds and motioning at Neville. "What is it, Harry? What do you want?"

Harry kept whining. Lucy picked up a toy by Neville and handed it to him but Harry threw it away. Lucy sighed. "Seven thirty nine, baby one wants baby two's toy. Conclusion, babies don't like to share... maybe?" She picked up a different rattle. "Here Neville, play with this one instead. It's... better."

She tried to take the rattle in Neville's hand but immediately he started to tear up. Lucy let go quickly not wanting the baby to cry. "Okay, okay. That's fine. This is fine." She looked at Harry who was still whining. She held out the other rattle for him. "Look, oooh, noise and... shakiness... isn't that... something?"

Harry grabbed at the rattle in her hand and shook it angrily. "Seven forty one, researcher would like to be moved to a different subject," Lucy muttered with a shake of her head, scribbling furiously. "Conclusion, chimpanzees might be better than human babies."

Just then Lily and Alice walked over and sat down on the floor beside the three children to check up on their babies. Lily smiled and asked, "How's it going over here?"

"Not sure," Lucy said. "I don't think Harry likes Neville very much."

Lily laughed and picked up her still grumpy baby, rocking him back and forth soothingly. "Oh, I think he may just be a little tired, that's all."

"What were you doing?" Alice asked, looking at the notebook in Lucy's hands.

"Nothing really," Lucy replied. She looked over at Neville, who was happily shaking his rattle and staring at Harry. Lucy thought he might be taunting Harry with the toy that he had wanted. She looked at her watch again before recording this as well. Then she looked up at Alice and asked, "How old are they?"

"They're both five months," Alice said and watched her write that down in her notebook too. "Why are you writing that down?"

"I'm doing research," she said. She thought about the age of the babies. "So they don't know how to do anything."

"Research on babies?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow. Lucy nodded and Lily laughed. "Alright, well they know how to roll over and grab things," Lucy wrote that down too, "but other than that, no, not really. They're learning though." Lucy nodded. Lily stood and picked up Harry. "Alright, we're all moving into the kitchen if you want to come, Lucy."

Lucy nodded and stood up too as Alice picked up Neville. She closed her notebook and followed Lily and Alice further into the flat towards the kitchen. Inside there was a long table where Nina, Daniel, Dorcas and Remus were already sitting down. Others stood around the room in groups, talking amongst each other. Lucy ran over to Daniel and sat down in the chair beside him.

"So," Daniel said, giving her a smile. "Dorcas and Remus have been dropping you off and picking you up from school right?" Lucy nodded and Daniel turned to look at the two, sitting together across from him. "Is she completely horrible?"

Dorcas laughed at the face Lucy made at Daniel. "She's not horrible," she said. "Lucy is very nice."

"Yes, very polite," Remus said.

"I guess she's just horrible when I'm the one dropping her off," Daniel said, tousling her hair a bit. Lucy glared at him and smacked his arm away, making him laugh.

"So, these two weirdos aside," Nina said with a smile. "How are you two doing?"

"Oh, I'm okay," Dorcas said. "It gets hard sometimes, especially last month but we can always find a little bit of light in the darkness. Right, Remus?"

Remus looked at her and smiled. "Right, of course."

Nina raised an eyebrow at them. "Oh?"

Dorcas smiled at her and was about to say something when Lily said dinner was ready. Plates, cutlery, and dishes of food whizzed over and set themselves on the table. Everyone else walked over and sat down to eat as well. All through dinner, Nina watched Remus and Dorcas carefully. She watched the way they talked and laughed with each other, the way they looked at each other, the way they unconsciously touched each other on the arms. Something was going on between them. They could maybe hide it from everyone else but not Nina. She prided herself on being able to read people.

Nina looked over at Minerva who was sitting beside her and moved a little closer. "What's up with Dorcas and Remus?" she whispered. "Are they like... together now?"

Minerva looked over at them and frowned. "Not that I know of," she whispered in reply. She smiled a little. "I hope so. I've been trying to tell them that they both like each other and should just go for it."

Nina smiled. "Well, I'm not sure if they've gone for it," she said, taking another quick look at Remus and Dorcas. "But they've definitely done something. Maybe they've finally told each other how they feel."

"Then why aren't they together?" Minerva said, frowning again. "Why aren't they acting like they're together and why haven't they told anyone?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Maybe they aren't together yet. Maybe they're waiting."

"Waiting for - oh, the end of the war."

"Yeah," Nina said with a sigh. "I can't imagine the pressure that all of you guys are under right now. Maybe they think it's best to just wait a little while."

"That's ridiculous. You can't put your lives on hold for this," Minerva mumbled. "The war will drown us if we don't have at least some sense of normality. That's why I'm taking the three of you up to Scotland. I mean it's not far but it's a little more removed from the war."

Nina smiled. "And Isobel is happy that we're coming up. It's been a while. All her letter end with 'when are you coming up here'."

"Her letters to me are worse," Minerva said with a smile. "They basically read 'why the hell aren't you bringing me my grandchildren'."

Nina laughed. They stopped whispering amongst themselves and re-joined the larger conversations around them. After dinner they stayed in the kitchen for tea while Lucy, Neville and Harry were moved back into the living room. The adults wanted to talk about the war so Lucy wasn't allowed to stay.

Lucy sat on the floor with Harry and Neville, notebook out and opened again. She watched them play for a while, taking some notes but it was mostly just a repeat of before. She kept her log up to date for a little while longer before getting bored and just starting to draw a picture of both boys playing. She thought her drawing was actually quite good. It captured the babies' irritable nature excellently.

After a while Neville got bored and started making a lot of noise. Lucy looked up from her book. Neville was pointing a stubby little finger at her.

"What? You want this?" she asked, picking up a baby toy from beside her and handing it to him. Neville grabbed it and threw it away. Lucy frowned as he pointed at her again. She picked up another toy and tried to hand that too him but he threw it away again. She did this with a couple more toys, both Lucy and Neville getting more frustrated and irritable by the exchange. Harry, however was playing quite obliviously beside them. Lucy picked up another toy and said, "Don't throw this one away or I'm not giving you another one."

Again Neville threw it, this time hitting Lucy with a large plastic key ring on the nose. Lucy made a face and rubbed her nose angrily. "You know, you're kind of mean, Neville."

Tears filled Neville's eyes and he began to wailing.

"Oh no! Please don't - please don't do that!" Lucy said quickly, not sure what to do. "I'm sorry I called you mean! I didn't mean it. Don't cry! Please... stop..."

Neville kept crying which caught Harry's attention. He looked up at the crying boy curiously, cocking his head to the side. Lucy looked at him and muttered, "You wouldn't happen to know what to do, would you?"

Harry just stared at her for a second before returning to his toy. Lucy put down her notebook and looked at the crying baby uncomfortably. She doubted Jane Goodall had to deal with this. Alice, Nina, and Minerva were all the way in the dining room and were so enthralled in their conversation that they didn't notice the crying. Lucy patted Neville lightly on the head, hoping that would do something. It didn't.

"Shh... Don't cry. It's okay..." Lucy whispered, trying her best to make Neville stop crying. "Please stop... Neville... okay, you probably want your mum right? I know but I've never really carried a baby before. I don't want to drop you... and I can't leave Harry all alone..."

Neville was crying a lot now. "Okay! Okay!" Lucy said. She stood up and awkwardly picked Neville up. Holding the baby by the armpits an arm's length away, she rocked him gently. She turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "MUM! MUM!"

Minerva, Lily and Alice came running into the room to see what was going on. Lucy held Neville out in front of her for one of them to take away quickly. "Ah, Neville's crying! I - I don't know what I did! I'm sorry!"

Alice smiled and took Neville from her. "It's alright," she said as she rocked him in her arms. He stopped crying almost immediately and yawned. "I think he's just tired and wants someone to hold him."

Lucy stared at him in disbelief. "I thought I broke him!" she exclaimed. "I thought I did something wrong."

"No, you didn't," Alice said kindly. "He's fine. Babies are pretty resilient, Lucy. You don't have to be scared of them."

"I'm not scared!"

"Of course not," Lily said with a laugh, picking Harry up as well.

"I'm not," Lucy said forcefully, walking over to Minerva who gave her a smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, love," she said. "Come on. You can come into the kitchen with us too now."

Lucy nodded, scooped up her notebook and followed Minerva, Lily and Alice back to the kitchen. Lily sat down in her seat beside James and Alice next to her own husband. Frank smiled and took Neville from Alice. Minerva sat down beside Nina and pulled Lucy up into her lap.

"So, Lucy," Mundungus said. "Are you excited for Christmas?"

"Yes!" Lucy said with a smile, leaning back into her mother's chest. "We're going to see my _nani_! We haven't seen her in a really long time."

"Your _Nani_?" Lily asked.

"It means grandmother in Hindi," Daniel said with a smile.

"Oh I see," she said with a smile.

"Where does your grandmother live?" Peter asked.

"She lives in Castletown!"

Minerva's eyes widened slightly and she looked down at Lucy.

"Uh oh..." Lucy whispered. She looked up at her mother with a frown. "I'm sorry."

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "It's okay."

James furrowed his brow. "What's up?"

Minerva just shook her head again. Sirius frowned. He had been leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. He pushed himself up off the chair and looked over at Lucy. "Hey, Lucy. Why don't we go play?" he said, trying his best to sound light-hearted and happy. "We can leave these losers to talk about all that boring stuff and go do something fun."

"Okay!" Lucy said excitedly, sliding down from her mother's lap. She looked back at Minerva. "Mum, is it okay if -"

"Yes, yes, go," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy smiled and took Sirius's hand as they walked out of the kitchen. Remus watched after him and sighed. "He still can't talk about Marlene without getting angry."

"Why were you guys acting weird?" James asked.

"Oh," Minerva said with a sigh. "Lucy was told that she wasn't supposed to be telling people our plans but that girl can't keep a secret to save her life."

"We're just worried about the Death Eaters finding out wherever we go," Daniel muttered, leaning back in his chair. "So, we've told her not to go around telling everyone our plans."

"Smart," Moody grumbled. "Though maybe next time keep the plans from her as well if she can't keep her mouth shut."

"It definitely didn't last long," Nina said with a small smile.

"I think it's still smart that you're taking precautions like that," Lily said, "but it's sad that you have to around us."

"No, it's not like that," Minerva said. "We trust you all, of course. We just don't want her walking around telling everybody. We don't know who might overhear."

"No, no, we understand," Dorcas said. "Besides, we all recognize that there must be a leak in the Order. I mean how else could the Death Eaters have found the McKinnon's safe house or the Bones's safe house or your guys' house in Rochester."

"Yeah," Peter said. "Who do you guys think it is?"

Everyone turned to look at Dumbledore who just shook his head. "I do not know," he said sadly. "It is hard to think that anyone on the Order would betray us like this."

"Bet you it's old Edward Jorgin," Mundungus muttered. "Man's not done nothing for ages. What's he doing except showing up to meetings and stealing all our information."

"His wife just died, Dung!" Amelia said, glaring at him. "He's not the spy. He didn't know the location of Edgar's safe house or the McKinnon's safe house."

"Whoever it is, is responsible for the death of a lot of Order members," Minerva muttered darkly, leaning back in her chair. Nina sighed, reached over and put a hand on her arm. "A lot of good people. A lot of our friends and they best hope that I don't find them."

"What are we going to do to find the spy?" Podmore asked. Again everyone turned to look at Dumbledore expectantly.

"I'll think of something," Dumbledore replied. "For now we shouldn't worry about it. We should enjoy our Christmas."

The party continued with a mutual understanding, even from Moody, that the war would no longer be discussed. Instead they moved into the living room, drank and talked about the happier things in their lives. Harry and Neville were put to bed upstairs but Lucy was allowed to stay up long, mostly because Minerva didn't want to commandeer James and Lily's bed.

Lucy, deciding baby research just wasn't for her, sat down against the wall of the living room and decided to research alcohol consumption instead. She opened her notebook and watched the people around her carefully. Drinking did different things to different people. They didn't all see the same effects, even if they drank the same amount. It was odd. Lucy wondered how their behaviour was determined if it wasn't just the amount they drank. She counted the glasses, adding the amount she had seen them drink before and during dinner too.

Hagrid drank the most, almost as much as everyone else put together. He was also the loudest, singing Christmas carols with Doge and going on and on about how amazing it would be to have a pet dragon. Lucy laughed when she watched him stumble on a chair and fall into the couch. Thankfully no one had been sitting there when he came by. Doge and Diggle didn't drink nearly as much as Hagrid but they still acted very similar. They were loud, happy and fumble-y.

Dorcas drank quite a bit but was perfectly fine. Sirius and James drank the same amount and were not. James became very childish, giggling at nothing and chasing Sirius around. Sirius was very all over the place. Sometimes he was jumping up and down with James, excitedly talking about Christmas and New Year's. Other times he was slumped over and snoring. Remus didn't drink much at all. He sat with the same drink in his hand talking with Dorcas and watching the others run around like idiots. Daniel and Nina never drank very much and were fine. Lucy had only seen her brother get very drunk one time and it was one night he had gone out with Michael and some of his other friends for his eighteenth birthday. He had come home in the morning, still drunk, and collapsed on the couch. Nina watched the others with worry, nurse brain kicking in. She was especially concerned about Hagrid. They sat with Dorcas and Remus as well.

Minerva drank nowhere near as much as she would have liked too since Lucy was there. She indulged herself in a glass or two but kept herself under control for her daughter's sake. Amelia on the other hand had no one to look after and was therefore free to drink as much as she wanted. Her brand of drunk consisted of slurred words and asking people if they remembered something but dissolving into giggles before she could get to what exactly it was that they were supposed to be remembering. Dumbledore drank as much as Minerva and was also completely in control of himself. He and Minerva sat together talking about Hogwarts. Minerva sometimes excusing herself to save someone from Amelia. Moody's stories got a lot louder, more violent, and much more explicit the more he drank and Mundungus's accent got a lot thicker and harder to understand the more he drank. Doge got a lot jollier and his laugh became more frequent and more booming as he drank.

Lily and Alice did not drink at all. They stuck with water. Lucy wondered if it was something to do with having a baby to look after. Why was that different from her own mother? Minerva drank a little bit even though she had Lucy to take care of. Maybe Minerva thought Lucy was able to take care of herself so she would be able to drink. This idea made Lucy very happy. Frank only had one glass the whole night, claiming that he preferred to keep his wits about him. Minerva had told her that Frank and Alice had both been Gryffindors but Lucy wondered if Frank might have been more suited for Ravenclaw.

Lucy's conclusion; _alcohol is weird. It seems that these people really like it, why else would they drink so much of it, but it also seemed to change them somehow. They didn't act like different people, just more intense versions of themselves mostly. Still have no idea what determines how they'll act. It might be age but Dorcas drank the same amount as Aunty Amelia and was fine even though she was younger. Yes, alcohol is definitely very weird and more research needs to be done._

"What are you doing?" Nina asked walking over with her glass in hand and sitting down next to Lucy on the floor.

"Watching everybody else," Lucy said with a smile. "They're acting weird."

"Are you making notes?" she asked with a smile, motioning down at her notebook. Lucy nodded and handed it to her. Nina flipped through the pages, reading her notes and looking at her drawings, and laughed. "You're doing research on alcohol?"

"Yep," she replied. "I'm not finding much."

Nina laughed and handed Lucy her notebook back. She looked around at the people in front of her and smiled. "The amount you can drink is based on your weight mostly."

"That's why Hagrid can drink so much more than everyone else?" Lucy asked.

Nina nodded. "How you act when you're drunk depends on your personality, I think."

"Hmm," Lucy said. "Nina, does drinking make you forget?"

"No, it just lowers your inhibitions so you do things you might have stopped yourself from doing normally," she said. She looked around and saw Moody and Amelia sitting nearby. "Like in Moody's case, he's telling stories that even he wouldn't tell normally, and in Amelia's case, she's giggling and fawning over him in a way she would never do normally."

Lucy laughed. "Do you think Aunty Amelia likes Mr. Moody?"

"Maybe," Nina said with a laugh. "She's definitely not doing that to anyone else."

"Will they remember everything?" Lucy asked.

"Probably," Nina replied. "Though they will probably regret how much they drank and how they acted in the morning."

Lucy smiled. She watched the partygoers and talked to Nina a little while longer before Frank started trying to find someone to play chess with him. Apparently he was a very good chess player and nobody seemed to want to play with him. Lucy agreed to play and he accepted kindly, thinking this would be the easiest game he had ever played. That turned out to be wrong. In fact Lucy turned out to be his most difficult adversary yet and he hers. Their game was long and complicated. Lucy had never had such a difficult match before.

Finally Frank looked up at her with a smile. "Checkmate."

Lucy stared at the board in disbelief. "What..." She had lost? But she never loses. She was undefeated.

Daniel looked over at the board and laughed. "It's okay, Lucy," he said. "You can't win them all."

"You were a very worthy adversary, Lucy. No one's ever posed as much of a challenge as you did," Frank said with a smile, sticking his hand out for her to shake. Lucy shook it, still a little dazed from her loss.

"She takes loss just about as well as her mother," Amelia said quietly to Minerva with a laugh. Minerva gave her a look.

"It was a good game, Mr. Longbottom," Lucy said with a diplomatic air, finally snapping out of her daze. "Congratulations on your win."

"Oh, nevermind. She takes it much better than her mother," Amelia said with a smile. Again Minerva gave her a look.

"Would you like a rematch?" Lucy asked, positive she could beat him this time.

"No!" Nina said quickly, standing up and dragging Daniel up with her. She, Daniel, and Minerva had been waiting for Lucy and Frank to finish their game so that they could head back to Hogwarts. "We do not have time to sit around waiting for you to finish another game. The first one was long enough as it is."

"Nina's right," Minerva said, standing up too and picking up hers and Lucy's coats. "We should really get going. It's getting quite late."

"Next time then," Frank said with a smile. "I would love to play you again."

"Okay," Lucy said, standing up too. "Next time."

They said goodbye to everyone at the party and got on their coats and boots, ready to leave. Other's started getting up too. Dumbledore decided to accompany them back to Hogwarts and Apparated the four of them directly outside Minerva's office. They very much appreciated not having to walk through the cold, snowy grounds to get to the castle as it was quite late and they were all very tired.

Lucy was glad to change out of her dress and put on something a lot more comfortable, her Wonder Woman pajamas. She got into bed next to her mother as Nina and Daniel were staying in her room and pulled the blankets up around her.

"Did you have a good time, darling?" Minerva asked.

"Yes," Lucy replied with a smile. "I learned a lot."

"Oh? About what?"

"Babies and people," she said.

"What did you learn about babies?" Minerva asked with a smile.

"I learned that chimpanzees are better."

"How did you learn that?" she asked giving her daughter a look.

"By living among them!"

"You lived among chimps?"

"No, babies!" Lucy said with a laugh. "I just think that chimpanzees would be a lot easier to handle."

Minerva laughed. "Alright," she said. "So what did you learn about people?"

"That they like to drink and alcohol is weird," Lucy replied.

"Well, that's one lesson, I guess," she said. She laid down and pulled the blankets around herself too. She looked over at Lucy and smiled. "Alcohol is pretty _weird_ , I suppose, which is why we should only indulge in it every once in a while."

"Mum, do you think that Aunty Amelia likes Mr. Moody?" Lucy asked with a smile.

Minerva laughed. "I think she does but I don't think she would ever admit it."

"Why not?"

"Well, Mr. Moody isn't really a very easy man to get along with, don't you think? They have a little bit of a love/hate relationship."

"What does that mean?"

"They love to hate each other."

"Why?"

Minerva shrugged. "It's just how they've always been. Ever since she and I started at the Law Department under him till now."

"Hmm," Lucy said thoughtfully. "I think she likes him and I think that they should date like Daniel and Nina!"

"I don't think that's going to happen, love," Minerva said with a sigh. "Alastor can't let his guard down for anyone, not even Amelia, and she knows that."

"That's kind of sad," Lucy said with a frown.

"It is, but sometimes you fall in love with someone who's just not ready to love you the same way," she said quietly, reaching over and pushing some of Lucy's hair back. "And that's okay. You just have to keep looking until you find the person who will appreciate your love the way you deserve. Alastor Moody respects and admires Amelia Bones very much but he can't love her."

"Could she fall in love with someone else?" Lucy asked.

"I think she has," Minerva said with a smile. "She just won't admit that either."

"Really?" Lucy asked. "Who?"

"I don't think I should tell you."

"No! No! Tell me!" Lucy said excitedly.

Minerva laughed. "I think your Aunty Amelia is in love with Uncle Raj."

"Really!" Lucy said. "I think Uncle Raj is awesome! He could appreciate Aunty Amelia's love the way she deserves!"

"Yes, I think so."

"So, how come they don't date?"

"They haven't talked to each other about their feelings yet," Minerva said. "We have to give them time and let them do that and then they will."

"Hmm..." Lucy said. There was a moment where she thought about it and then she pointed at Minerva. "You fell in love twice too."

Minerva nodded. "I was married twice, yes," she said, "but I've been in love three time, I think. Maybe more but I can't remember for sure."

"Really?"

"Yes, the first man I was in love with turned out not be the right person for me," she said. "His name was Dougal McGregor. He lived in Castletown and I loved him very much. He actually proposed to me too."

"Wow, so you almost got married three times?" Lucy asked, holding up three little fingers.

"Yes, almost," Minerva said with a smile. "But then I realized that we couldn't love each other like we both deserved. We wanted different things. I wanted to go to London and work in the Wizarding World and he wanted to take over his father's farm in Castletown. We just didn't fit like I thought we would so I told him no and headed to London. It was heartbreaking and I was very sad for a long time but it turned out okay didn't it? If I had said yes to him, I would still be in Castletown now and I wouldn't have you and Daniel and Nina."

"Wow," Lucy said again. She thought about this for a minute as well. "So, after that you went to London and met your first husband."

"Yes, he was actually my boss to begin with. I looked up to him a lot and then when I left for Hogwarts he kept asking me to marry him," Minerva said. "But I kept saying no."

"Why?"

"I was still getting over Dougal," she replied with a little shrug. "I did, finally, and when he asked again I said yes."

"What was his name?" she asked.

"Elphinstone Urquart," Minerva said.

"Elphi-stomb Ur- Urquawt - Urqu- Urqua -"

"Elph _in_ sto _ne_ Urqu _art_ ," Minerva said with a laugh. "It's a little bit of a silly name but he was a little bit of a silly man. I just called him Elph."

"Elph is a nice name," Lucy said with a smile. "I wish I could have met him."

Minerva smiled. "I'm sure he would have loved you."

"How long were you married?"

"We were married for only four years,"

"And then he died," Lucy said quietly. Minerva nodded. There was silence for a moment before Lucy spoke again. "Daddy was married twice too. He was married to Daniel's mum but then she died too." Again Minerva nodded. "And then... and then Daddy died."

Minerva sighed and nodded.

"Everyone dies," Lucy whispered. "So, why do people get married?"

Minerva pulled her daughter closer and gave her a hug. "People know that it happens. That people die sometimes but when someone loves someone else very much sometimes they decide to vow to be together forever in front of their friends and family."

"Not really forever," Lucy mumbled with a frown. "Because people die or they get divorced, like a lot of the time."

"Yes, sometimes forever doesn't actually last forever."

"Then why do people say that they'll love each other forever if they don't mean it?" Lucy asked, looking up at her mother with a confused look on her face.

"They mean it when they say it, darling. They love each other and even in a divorce they still love each other," Minerva said, giving her a reassuring look. "Sometimes they just realize that they can't live together anymore. They don't get along like they thought they did and that it would just be easier to not live together anymore."

"Hmm," Lucy said, sounding deep in thought. "My friend Sarah's mum and dad are divorced."

"Yes, they are but they both still love her the same way as they did when they were living together," Minerva said.

"Marriage is weird," Lucy said decidedly.

"Maybe," Minerva said with a laugh. "But it's a happy occasion. Love is beautiful and should be celebrated. That's what marriage is, you know. A celebration of two people's love."

"How come you and Mr. Elph never had a baby?" Lucy asked.

"Well, he was quite old and I was still on the fence about having kids at that time. I hadn't decided if I wanted one yet," Minerva said.

"You didn't want a baby?" Lucy asked with a frown.

"I wasn't sure," she replied honestly. "But by the time you came along I was much more ready for you so you were a nice surprise."

"A surprise?" Lucy asked, smiling again.

"Yes, I didn't know you were coming," Minerva said with a smile. "Daddy and I were very surprised and very excited when we found out."

"Hmm," Lucy said. She thought this over for a little bit. "Sorry for being a surprise. I know you don't really like surprises."

Minerva laughed. "That's quite alright," she said, leaning down and kissing her cheek. "We were very happy you came either way."

"So, when you love someone you have a baby."

"You can if you want to. Some people don't and that's okay too."

"So, you can fall in love a lot of times and you can get married but you don't have to and you can have a baby but you don't have to and you can get a divorce if you don't get along well," Lucy said in conclusion, wrapping up everything she had learned. She paused and thought this over for a second before adding, "and you can have brothers that aren't really your full brothers but are still your brothers?"

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile. "Families can be very different. There's no right family and there's no wrong family. Our family is a little mixed and matched but that's okay."

Lucy nodded. "I like our family."

"Me too. It's very nice," Minerva replied. Lucy nodded again happily. "Okay, love, it's very late. We should really get to sleep now."

Lucy nodded. "Goodnight, Mum."

"Goodnight, my darling," Minerva said with a smile, leaning down and kissing her cheek again.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** (sorry for the absolute lack of correspondence through the last seventeen chapters)

The last chapter was pretty heavy and sad and so was the beginning of this chapter so I give you babies! And Lucy not understanding them. Her awkwardness around these squishy mini-humans may or may not be based on my own. Either way, I am glad you are all enjoying my story! Please leave a review, they make my day! :)


	19. TLT -- 19

_**Friday, December 25th 1998**_

" _Nani! Nani_!" Lucy exclaimed, running through the front door and hugging her grandmother. Isobel laughed and hugged her tightly.

"Hello, darling!" she said with a smile. She picked Lucy up into her arms "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Lucy said with a giggle.

Isobel looked over at Minerva, Nina, and Daniel with a smile. She gave each of them a hug and wished them a merry Christmas as well with Lucy still in her arms. She walked them into the living room where Malcolm, Robert and their families were already sitting. They said their hellos and merry Christmases before sitting down as well. Lucy sat down next to Lina on the floor.

They talked for a long time, opened presents and soon made their way into the dining room for dinner. After dinner the children moved into the living room while the adults stayed in the dining room to drink their tea and discuss the war.

"How are things at Hogwarts?" Rosalin asked, looking over at Minerva. "I mean all we know is what Lina's been telling us."

"Which isn't much," Robert added.

"Well, things are definitely escalating," Minerva muttered. "We have so many refugee families at Hogwarts now and the war looks nowhere close to coming to an end. We also may have a spy in the Order."

"A spy?" Isobel said with a frown. "You mean someone on the Order is working for You-Know-Who?"

Minerva nodded sadly. "We fear that is most likely the case. The Death Eaters are almost always one step ahead of us. They know our plans in advance and they've slowly been finding our safe houses."

"Do you have any leads on who it may be?" Malcolm asked.

"We have narrowed it down to a select few considering who had access to what information but in that group I have a hard time believing it's any of them," Minerva muttered. She shook her head and sighed. "All we know is that someone we trust is actually working against us and is putting all of our friends at risk."

"That's horrible," Daisy whispered. "You know, Flynn has expressed interest in coming back to the UK and fighting in the Order but I've said no."

"He is of age, Daisy," Robert said. "He can make his own choices."

Daisy sent him a look. "And how would you feel if Lina expressed the same interest?"

Robert didn't answer and Malcolm shook his head. "It's always different when it's your own child," he mumbled with a sigh. "We already have Lando putting himself in danger, we don't want Flynn doing the same."

Daisy sighed and shook her head. "Why can't he just listen?" she mumbled. "Why does he insist on helping?"

"That's just Lando," Isobel said with a sigh. "He sees a problem, he wants to help solve it."

"He'll be okay," Robert said. "He's a smart kid."

There was silence for a second before Malcolm looked over at Minerva. "So, what about this prophecy business with Lucy?"

Minerva furrowed her brow. "I don't even want to think about that."

"It said that she'd pick the winning side," Isobel said with a frown. "Why wouldn't she pick this one? The idea that she of all people would sympathise with the Death Eaters is laughable."

"Yet the way it's worded does make it seem like there will be a distinct choice," Malcolm said. "Whether that be under duress or otherwise. I think we'll have to be very careful."

"I agree," Daisy said. She sighed. "Lucy is much too small to have to worrying about things like this."

Minerva nodded. "She is. She is much too little and small and scared already. She knows about the war now and she's seen what it's doing," she mumbled. "She knew Marlene McKinnon and her death really hurt her."

"The whole McKinnon family..." Isobel mumbled with a shake of her head.

"It's a horrifying thought," Robert muttered, "to have the home you thought was safe bombarded like that."

"It's why we must take precautions," Minerva said. "Lina is very safe at Hogwarts and Flynn is safe in Northern Ireland but what about you four? You're all staying in Edinburgh right? What are the protections like around your home there, Malcolm?"

"Unplottable, of course," Malcolm replied. "Mother is our Secret-Keeper."

Minerva nodded. "Good."

"And Lando's been staying at home lately as well," Daisy said. "And I know he's safe but I still worry about Flynn in Ireland all the time."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Isobel said, giving her a reassuring smile. "What about Daniel and Nina? Are you sure they'll be safe in Canterbury?"

"They should be fine," Minerva said. "Though I do worry about them a lot as well. Their flat is also unplottable. I'm their Secret-Keeper. We don't get to see much of them when they're down there because with schoolwork and Order business it gets so busy and I don't really have the time to go every weekend. Lucy does not like that very much."

Isobel smiled a little. "Well, she seems quite happy today."

"Well, it is Christmas," Rosalin said with a smile.

"So how are things at the Ministry?" Minerva asked, looking over at Daisy.

"Tense," she replied with a sigh. "All of our energy is going into reconstruction of everything the Death Eaters destroy. No one knows who to trust. The Ministry has more of a spy problem than the Order does. I don't think the Ministry really knows what it's doing and I don't know how much longer it will last."

Nobody spoke for a while, thinking over Daisy's words. All that could be heard was the clink of teacups being put down on saucers. Most conversations on the war ended like this it seemed. Finally the silence was broken by Isobel.

"Well," she said quietly, "all we can do is keep fighting and hope that things get better soon."

There were nods of agreement and then silence again. The silence did not last long however. It was broken by a loud banging noise and shouts from the living room. The shouting did not sound like child's play. The adults got up quickly, wands out, and ran to the living room.

To Minerva's horror they found Lando, Flynn, and Lina attempting to duel seven Death Eaters. Everyone sprang into action to help the children. Isobel took on two Death Eaters while everyone else took on one. Malcolm shouted for his sons and niece to get back. Lina fell back quickly, moving to where Daniel and Nina had pulled Lucy behind a couch. Flynn and Lando, however, did not. They wanted to help fight too.

"Flynn, Lando," Malcolm yelled. "Get everyone else back home! We'll Apparate back when we can!"

"No!" Flynn yelled, sending a red light towards one of the Death Eaters. "We're not going to leave you!"

"Go, Flynn! Keep the children safe!" Isobel called. "We can handle ourselves!"

Flynn looked at Lando who gave a small nod. He turned to look at where the others were hiding. He and Lando ran over to them and crouched behind the couch too.

"Okay," Lando said loudly so they could hear him over the fighting. "We have to get outside and far enough away from the house so we can Apparate. Flynn, you can take Daniel and Nina and I'll take Lina and Lucy." Flynn nodded. Lando looked at Daniel next. "I can take Lucy. You and Nina stick close."

Daniel nodded and let go of his sister. Lucy quickly crawled towards Lando who scooped her up. He stuck his head out over the couch a little so he could see what was going on. Lucy looked over too and saw a flash of green light just narrowly miss her mother. Her eyes widened and she held onto Lando more tightly.

"I'm going to crawl behind that armchair and then motion for you guys to follow one by one when it's safe, okay?" Lando said. He looked back and saw the frightened faces of his brother and cousins nod at him before looking back at the fight.

He waited for every Death Eater to be distracted before scurrying over to the armchair by the door with Lucy still in his arms. Once he made it, he put her down but she still clung to his side. He looked back up at the fight and motioned for the next person to follow. Nina came next and then Lina. Lando left Lucy with Nina and then crawled out the living room door, into the kitchen to check if it was safe. It was so he came back and sent Lina and then Nina and Lucy. He then helped Daniel and Flynn get over safely as well.

When they were all in the kitchen they could stand up and walk properly. Lando picked Lucy back up and looked out the window.

"If we get past the tree line we'll be able to Apparate," Lando said, scanning the back garden to make sure it was safe. "This house is old and has a lot of spells on it so we can't Apparate while we're inside."

He saw nothing so he was about to move towards the backdoor when in a very small and scared voice Lucy whispered, "Lando... there are people in the trees."

Lando looked again and his heart sank when he saw monstrous men standing behind the line of trees that he hadn't noticed before. Lina saw them too and tears filled her eyes.

"What are we going to do? We can't fight them all!" she cried.

"We need a new plan," Daniel said trying to remain calm. "What else can we do?"

"Hide?" Nina suggested.

"No, that won't work," Flynn muttered. "If they use a searching charm they'd find us immediately."

Lucy buried her face on Lando's shoulder as tears started to roll down her face. Lando sighed and rubbed her back. "It'll be okay. We'll think of something," he whispered, trying his best to come up with a new plan. They couldn't go outside. They couldn't hide. They needed a new way out and they needed to warn their parents that there were more Death Eaters waiting for them. Suddenly he had an idea. "The fireplace!"

"In the _living room_?" Flynn exclaimed.

"No," Lando replied. "Grandma has one in her bedroom! We just need to get upstairs and then we can Floo."

"The house in Edinburgh isn't connected," Flynn said. "We need to Floo somewhere else and then Apparate."

"We can Floo to my bookshop and Apparate from there," Lando suggested. "Yeah, that's what we'll do. Come on."

"We have to go through the living room again if we want to get upstairs," said Daniel.

Lando nodded. He walked toward the door and poked his head out. He saw that Isobel had managed to stupify one of the Death Eaters she had been fighting and was now focused on the other. Minerva had her Death Eater on the ropes and Malcolm had beaten his. He was now helping Daisy with hers. Robert and Rosalin were working together on their two as well. Lando saw his opening and crawled back towards the armchair.

"Dad!" he yelled as he looked back towards the kitchen and motioned for Nina to follow him. "There are more outside! A lot of them!"

"What!" Minerva cried. She blasted the Death Eater she was fighting backwards. He hit the opposite wall and slumped down to the ground limply. Minerva looked back at the kids coming back into the living room and ran back towards the couch they were behind now. "What are you doing?"

"We're going upstairs to use Grandma's fireplace," Lando said. "That's the only way out."

Minerva nodded. "Okay," she replied. "Get up there and we'll come up after you."

"We're going to Floo to my bookshop since the house is not connected," Lando said. "It's called Beedle and Bard Books."

Minerva nodded again. She was about to say something else when she heard another bang behind her and saw more Death Eaters file in. She looked back and put a hand on Lucy's back. "It'll be okay, sweetheart," she whispered. She looked at the other children, a lot of who were also tearing up. "Be safe. Listen to Lando. We'll see you all soon."

Lucy turned to see her mother getting up and running back into the fight. She didn't want her to go. She wanted her to come with them. Lucy looked back at Lando who avoided her gaze. He was looking for the best way to get to the hallway with the stairs.

Lando motioned to the next couch they would crawl behind and slowly led them through the room. They went behind couches, turned over tables, and moved shelves until finally they made it to the other side. The stairs passed by the front door so Lando peaked his head out the door first. Sure enough there were Death Eaters in the hall, looking around. He handed Lucy over to Daniel before he and Flynn barged through the door and took on the Death Eaters. While they distracted the Death Eaters, Lina led the rest of them up the stairs and towards Isobel's room. Once they had made it up the stairs, Lando and Flynn came up slowly too, still duelling the Death Eaters below.

Lina pushed through her grandmother's bedroom door and ran towards the fireplace quickly. She grabbed the little dish filled with Floo Powder from the top of it and held it out for Nina to take.

"Just step into the fire and say 'Beatle and Bard Bookstore' before throwing down the powder," she said as Nina took a handful of powder. "Oh, and keep your elbows tucked in. You don't want to hit them on the sides of the chimney."

Daniel handed Lucy over to Nina and she climbed into the fireplace. She said the bookstore's name and threw down the powder like she was told. The fire roared to life and encompassed the two girls before they disappeared.

"Okay, you next," Lina said, holding the Floo Powder dish towards Daniel.

He nodded and took a handful but before he could move, the door burst open and Lando and Flynn came inside. Lando slammed the door closed behind them and moved the bed in front of it.

"We've got a little bit of time," he said, turning around to look at them. "Let's go."

"What about Mum, Dad and the others?" Lina said, tears falling down her cheeks. "There's so many of them, Lando! How will they get out?"

"They'll find a way, Lina. Don't worry," Lando said as they heard pounding on the door. "We don't have much time. Let's go!"

Daniel got into the fireplace, threw down the powder, and disappeared. Then Lina went, then Flynn, and finally it was Lando's turn. He got in and as the room was disappearing behind him, he saw the bed blast across the room and the door swing open. He really hoped that the adults found a way out quickly. There were way too many Death Eaters for them to take.

Lando stepped out of the fireplace in the back office of his bookstore to find his brother and cousins sitting on the floor. Lucy was sitting in Daniel's lap and Nina was sitting beside him. He had his arm around her. Lina was sitting in between Daniel and Flynn. She was holding Lucy's hand. Lando sighed and sat down too. "It'll be okay, you guys. All of them are strong and skilled fighter. They'll find a way out. I know they will."

"We should send a message to Dumbledore," Nina said suddenly. "He can get the rest of the Order over there and help them!"

"That's a good idea," Lina said.

Lando nodded and flicked his wand. A silver panther came out the end of it and flew off with his message for Dumbledore. After it was gone he turned back to the others. They sat in silence for a long time before Lando decided to break the silence.

"Hey, don't worry. They'll be fine. They're McGonagalls after all. We don't give up," Lando said with a small smile. He stood up and walked towards the door of the office. "Come on. We can go to the storefront and look at some of the books to get our mind off it."

Daniel was the first to stand up. Lando gave him a smile as he put Lucy down beside him and took her hand. "Come on, kid," he said. "Maybe there are some nice books you'll like."

Lucy leaned in close to Daniel and walked with him towards Lando. The others got up too and followed behind them. Lando smiled and took them to the storefront.

"Wow," Lucy whispered. The store was huge. There were two floors. The bottom floor had lines of tall dark wood shelves on either side of the room of a long corridor with a high glass ceiling. If you looked up from the corridor you could see the second floor. The corridor had large, comfy looking armchairs and small tables. The second floor was just lines of shelves on either side of the corridor as well. It looked like a giant library except at the front by the door there was a desk with a cash register where you could buy the books.

"Like it?" Lando asked with a smile. He flicked his wand and candles at the end of each shelf came to life, lighting up the store a little bit more.

Lucy nodded. "It's nice."

Daniel took Lucy over to a bookshelf and picked her up so she could look at the shelves higher up while the others either sat down in armchairs or look at different shelves of books themselves. Lucy sighed and rested her head on the side of Daniel's.

"Daniel?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Mum and everyone will be okay?" Lucy asked.

Daniel took a deep breath. He thought about the amount of Death Eaters in the garden. They vastly outnumbered the McGonagalls. He wanted everything to be alright. He wanted everyone to be okay but he didn't know if they would. He wanted to be optimistic but at the same time he wanted to be realistic too. He sighed. "I don't know, Lucy. I hope so," he mumbled. He pulled out a book to try and distract her. "Hey, look. This book is about Leprechauns."

Lucy shook her head and squirmed so he would put her down. She walked away towards where Nina was sitting on an armchair. Nina gave her a small smile and moved a little so Lucy could come sit beside her. Lucy did and hugged her tightly, burying her face into her side. Nina put her arms around Lucy too and sighed.

"This is my fault," Lucy whispered. "I was the one that couldn't keep the secret that we were coming here."

"It's not your fault, love," Nina said soothingly. She realized now though that someone in the group they trusted most was the spy after all. She kept calm and consoled the girl, not wanting her to worry right now. "You didn't tell anyone bad where we were. You just told friends."

"I shouldn't have told anyone!" Lucy sobbed. "It's all my fault!"

"No, no, darling," Nina whispered. "Shh... it'll be alright. Don't cry. We'll be okay. Everyone will be fine. It's not your fault. It was an accident."

They waited for hours for someone to send word and tell them what was going on but nothing came. Everyone was started to get really worried now. They had pulled some armchairs up to where Nina and Lucy were sitting so that they could all sit down together and wait. They tried to read some books, Lando even tried to read a fairytale out loud for everyone, but every story or conversation fizzled out quickly. They were much too worried about their family to do anything else.

"Maybe we should send another message to Dumbledore," Lina suggested, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "Maybe... maybe he didn't get the first one."

"He got it," Flynn mumbled. "It was a patronus, not an owl. He got it."

"Well we could send another just in case," Lina said.

No one responds so Lina pulled out her own wand. She flicked it and a large silver butterfly flew through the room and disappeared with a message for Dumbledore. Once the butterfly was gone, they were back to sitting in silence thinking the worst had happened. Maybe Dumbledore and the Order didn't make it on time and everyone was dead. Elders from another Wizarding family all wiped from existence. Even with a Muggle last name they were still a prestigious wizard family. Nina felt Lucy's breathing become unsteady again and rubbed her back softly. Lucy leaned into her and cried silently.

More time past and they had all but given up hope when suddenly a silver deer came into the room. It opened its mouth and Daisy's voice came out of it. "We are fine. Sit tight, we're on our way."

"Oh thank God," Lina said quietly.

"See, everything is fine," Nina whispered to Lucy, holding her close. Lucy wiped her tears and smiled a little. Daniel reached over and tousled her hair a bit.

Soon a soft pop was heard and Minerva and the others Apparated into the bookshop. Lucy slid off the armchair she was sitting on and ran to her mother, tears running down her cheeks.

"Mommy!"

Minerva hugged her and picked her up while the other children went and hugged their own parents. Minerva put a hand on the back of Lucy's head as she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck tightly. "Shh, I'm here," Minerva said soothingly. "It's alright. We're all okay."

Daniel and Nina walked over and hugged her too. They were so relieved to see everyone alive and okay. They all had a few cuts and scrapes and their robes were a mess with dirt, blood, and rips but they were okay.

"We'll all Apparate to Malcolm's house," Isobel said. "We can relax and calm down a bit over there."

They all agreed and set off. Minerva Apparated with Lucy while Isobel took Daniel and Nina. They arrived on the doorstep of a small cottage on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The house was not nearly big enough for all of them but it was cozy and warm and safe and that's all that matter right now. They all sat in the living room drinking hot chocolate and snuggling close together under cozy blankets. A fire was going in the fireplace giving off some warmth and light. Minerva was sitting on the floor with Lucy fast asleep curled up in her lap and Nina asleep on her arm. Lina was asleep on the couch with her head resting on her father's lap. Everyone else was awake and talking quietly as to not wake the girls.

"You did a good job, Lando," Minerva whispered. "Of keeping everyone safe."

"I did my best," he mumbled.

"It was excellent," Daniel said. "He came up with a new plan quickly, took care of Lucy, Lina, and Nina, held off Death Eater with Flynn. He did great."

Lando gave Daniel a little smile. "It was nothing," he said. He looked over at his father. "What happened after we left?"

"Well, we were holding off the Death Eaters when more came," Malcolm said with a sigh. "Then a little while after you left more Order members arrived to help us. Said that you had gotten word to them. That was good thinking."

"Nina's idea," Lando said. "I hadn't even thought about it until she said that we should send word to Dumbledore."

Minerva smiled, looking down at the sleeping Nina resting her head on Minerva's arm. She couldn't imagine what they would have done if Nina hadn't thought quickly. They would never have been able to hold off all those Death Eaters alone. She was sure that right now they owed Nina their lives.

"Well," Malcolm continued. "It was a long battle but in the end we were able to secure enough of the house to remove some of the charms and Apparate out. Everyone was fine. A couple people had a few injuries but nothing that couldn't be fixed. However... a group Muggles did hear the commotion while they were driving by and came to see what was going on. They were not so lucky. I think the Ministry has told the Muggle news that it was a car crash."

There was silence for a long time. Minerva sighed. Those men had just wanted to make sure everyone was okay. They were innocent and the Death Eaters killed them anyway. She looked down at Lucy and pushed some hair out of her face.

"How did they find us?" Flynn asked, breaking the silence finally. "I thought that house was basically as secure as Hogwarts! How could they have gotten there without us knowing?"

"I think the only thing secure about Hogwarts anymore is Albus Dumbledore," Isobel mumbled quietly with a shake of her head. "That house was very secure. It had every charm on it possible without making it unplottable. Someone must have tipped them off. That's the only way they could have found it."

Minerva looked down at Lucy and sighed. She moved the blanket over her a little bit more. She moved a little in her sleep and hugged one of Minerva's arms tightly. The only people who Lucy had let it slip that they were going to Castletown was the group at Lily and James's dinner party. Minerva didn't like it, she trusted all of them with her life, but she wasn't stupid. One of them must be the turncoat.

"A very merry Christmas then," Robert muttered, raising his cup a little. "You got any whiskey I could spike this with, Daisy?"

...

"Why don't you come back to Hogwarts with us, Mother?" Minerva said quietly on New Year's day. They were all getting ready to leave Malcolm's cottage. Flynn was off, back to Ireland and Lina was coming with Minerva and Lucy back to Hogwarts. They would be dropping Daniel and Nina off in Canterbury on the way.

"That's alright, my love. You don't have to worry about me," Isobel said with a small smile. "I'll stay here in Edinburgh with Malcolm and the others for a little while. Maybe I'll come to Hogwarts afterwards."

Minerva nodded. "Alright, if you're sure."

"Of course," she replied. She pulled Minerva into a quick hug. "Stay safe, darling. Send me word soon. I expect a letter from each of you," she looked at Daniel, Nina, Lucy and Lina, "every week at least. Just to let me know you're all safe."

They said okay and goodbye, hugging their grandmother before taking their Portkey away. They arrived on the welcome mat of Nina's apartment and went inside. Lucy didn't want to drop off Daniel and Nina. She wanted them to come back to Hogwarts with her where it was safe. Everyone said that Hogwarts was the safest place right now because of Uncle Albus so why wouldn't they just take a semester off and stay with her. She hugged Daniel and begged him to come back to Hogwarts but he didn't give in.

"Don't worry, kid," Daniel said with a smile, hugging her tightly. "We'll be safe here. Nobody knows we're here. They think we're at King's College remember."

"But I still think it would be safer to just come to Hogwarts," Lucy said.

"But you know we can't do that," he replied.

She sighed and nodded. "Be safe, Daniel."

"Of course."

She said goodbye to Nina too and then took her mother's hand. Minerva Apparated Lucy, Lina and herself back to Hogwarts. They landed behind the gate and walked through the snow up to the castle.

When they finally made it up to the castle, Minerva looked over at Lina. "Alright, love, you still have about a week before the Hogwarts Express arrives. You can find something to do in that time I'm sure."

Lina nodded. "Yeah, I think one of my friends is here so I'll go find her. Thank you for bringing me back with you, Aunt Min."

"Of course," Minerva replied with a smile. "Lucy and I will be in my office if you need anything."

"Bye Lina," Lucy said. "See you later."

"Bye Lucy, bye Aunt Min," Lina said before walking away towards the Gryffindor dormitory.

Minerva looked down at Lucy and gave her a small smile. "Don't be sad, my love. Everyone is fine and they're safe where they are."

"Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Why do the Death Eaters keep following us?" Lucy asked with a worried look on her face. "Why do they want to hurt us? What did we do?"

"We stood up for what is right," Minerva said as she led the way back to her office. "Sometimes bad people get mad when you stand up for what is right."

"But we don't try to hurt them. Why do they try to hurt us? I don't want to die and I don't want anyone else to die!" Lucy said.

"You're not going to die, darling," Minerva said, stopping and going down on her knees so she could face Lucy. "I'm not going to let that happen. There are so many people here that are fighting to make sure you and everyone else lives. We don't want anyone to die either."

Lucy wrapped her arms around Minerva's neck. "I'm sorry for letting people know we were going to _Nani_ 's house. I won't tell anyone anything ever again."

Minerva sighed. "It's okay, love. It's not your fault," she said, lifting her up and continuing the walk up to her office. "Did you tell anyone other than James and them where we were going?"

Lucy shook her head making Minerva's heart sink. So it was one of them. She didn't want to believe it but her trust in all of those people had put her family at risk. At least one of them were working for Voldemort and she did not know which one. She sighed. Dorcas and Remus were still dropping Lucy off at school every day and she was quite certain that if it was one of them they would have done something by now. The idea made her shudder a little. What if it was one of them and they were just waiting for the right time to take Lucy out? No. They had both proven time and again that they were on the side of the Order. Dorcas herself had a great track record of arrests and Remus had done everything, even at the expense of his own health and sanity, to try and turn some werewolves onto their side. James and Lily had a child now and so they had to think about Harry's safety. They had defied the Dark Lord on multiple occasions but if the safety of their baby was at risk, Minerva couldn't be sure that they wouldn't spill Order secrets. She would not blame them if it were this way, of course. She couldn't be sure if she wouldn't do the same. However, James and Lily seemed very happy and relaxed, as one could be during wartimes. They were happy and healthy and cheerful. They did not seem to be under duress of any sort. Alice and Frank were the in the same boat. Then there was Sirius and Peter. Sirius had the history of course but he had proven time and again that he was not his mother or father's son. Peter had not done anything very remarkable in the past and Minerva doubted he would be able to keep up a charade like that. Either way, he's always been very loyal to his friends. He basically hero worshipped James and Sirius, he would never do anything to hurt either of them. Hagrid, Doge, and Diggle were much too loyal. Moody had lost an eye and a leg to this fight. He had literally given everything and was still giving more to this war. Why would he be the spy? Mundungus had his faults but he was still a good person. He had proved himself to be on their side time and time again. Podmore had also done the same and it obviously wasn't Amelia. Minerva was back to square one. She could not believe that any of those people were the spy but evidence was mounting to the contrary.

...

"What do you think, Albus? Who could it be? Is it one of them?" Minerva asked later that night during her meeting with Dumbledore. She was pacing back and forth in the Headmaster's office trying to figure out what to think.

"I wish I knew, Minerva," he replied with a sad sigh. He was sitting at his desk with his elbows in the table and his fingertips pressed together looking very deep in thought.

Minerva looked at him. "The Order is falling apart. Alastor and Emmeline got into a bloody duel after he accused her of being the spy. Doge still won't talk to Fletcher, convinced it's him. Sirius got ambushed in Essex two nights ago and is convinced that Remus is the one that told the Death Eaters he would be there! This is their plan, isn't it? Plant one spy and then all of a sudden it's like a... a, as the Muggles call it, witch hunt!"

"Strong language, Minerva."

"It's true though, is it not? The best term to describe it," she muttered walking over and flopping down in her chair.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. "Yes, I think you're right," he conceded. "This spy business is tearing us apart. If we are to survive we will need to find them as soon as possible. A task that, I'm afraid, the two of us will have to do personally."

"You don't trust anyone else?" Minerva asked.

"I trust a few but I would still think it foolish not to have them checked as well," he replied. "We must be very thorough in times like these."

"So how are we going to do this then? Have them come in and slip them some Veritaserum?" Minerva asked.

"I think that may ruffle some feathers and a lot of these people are on edge already," Dumbledore said with a shake of his head. "No, I think that a little feline friend of ours should take a little interest in the day to day routine of some of these Order members."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "If you want me to tail them while in cat form just say so, Albus. I don't like it when you talk about me like that."

He smiled. "Sorry, Minerva."

"So who should I do first then?"

"Well, we'll start with those who were there on the night of Lily and James's dinner party," he said. "It would be our best bet, I think, considering you said that Lucy hadn't let it slip to anyone else that Isobel lived in Castletown."

Minerva nodded, though she still didn't like it.

"I would suggest Dorcas and Remus first. Just to be a hundred percent sure with those two as they will be taking Lucy to and from school in just one week," he said. "It will put one worry out of your head."

Minerva nodded again. "That's a good idea."

"I'm known to have those every once in a while."

"A shame it happens so rarely."

Dumbledore put a hand over his heart. "Why, Professor, your words hurt like whips, I must say." She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. He continued, "You will probably need someone to watch Lucy while you're out on your mission. Might I suggest Andromeda Tonks or Molly Weasley?"

"I'll talk to them," Minerva replied with a nod. She sighed and looked down a little. "Lucy's still scared. She doesn't know who to trust anymore and I don't know what to tell her. I want to tell her that she should trust people but at the same time I don't know if that's true anymore and I don't want something like this to happen again."

Dumbledore nodded. "These things are tough and it's a shame that she had to learn such a complicated lesson at such a young age where she may not be in the right place to fully understand it."

"I just wanted her to have a happy, healthy, normal childhood," Minerva mumbled. "Was that too much to ask?"

He did not respond.

"She's only seven Albus," Minerva continued. "She shouldn't have to worry about saying something that could endanger our lives or worry about bad guys bursting in and hurting her. She absorbs more and goes looking for more information than other children her age. She asks questions that I can't even come close to answering properly. I just want her to run around and laugh and play like Nymphadora and Charlie and Bill but sometimes I see her sitting in the corner because she's too worried to play."

He nodded. "I know. It'll be okay. She'll learn to cope better. She's smarter than most children her age. Smarter than is probably good for her. So I'm certain that she will learn how to cope and be happy even when it seems awful outside."

Minerva sighed. _I just don't want her to have to._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

The war is getting pretty intense and who knows who this dastardly spy could be!

Anyways, thanks for reading! Please leave a review! It makes me very happy to see that people are actually reading and enjoying my work!


	20. TLT -- 20

_**Thursday, January 7th 1999**_

Minerva slunk around in the shadows of the Hogwarts corridors following Dorcas. She felt horrible. She shouldn't be invading her privacy like this but it had to be done unfortunately. She had to make sure that Dorcas and Remus were not the spy feeding their secrets to the Death Eaters. She trusted them both but she still had to make sure. If not for the Order, for Lucy's safety.

Dorcas and Remus had no missions assigned but they did sometimes take guard shifts at the Hogwarts gates or down. The only places Dorcas and Remus ever Apparated to were the Potter's flat, Peter's flat, or the Ministry of Magic to talk with Amelia or Moody. Remus sometimes Apparated to Scotland to visit his father as well. They also sometimes went into Hogsmeade to the Three Broomsticks for a drink and to hear all the rumours Rosmerta had picked up. That woman was worse at keeping a secret than Lucy was. Other than that, they mostly stayed at the castle.

Minerva had slipped a small piece of magical glass on the bottom of both Dorcas and Remus's shoes. This was a silly little device Dumbledore had invented that proved to be quite useful. It allowed her to find them even if they Apparated away. He called it the Invenietor, which Minerva knew was a play on the Latin word for 'find'. The Invenietor was probably one of Minerva's favourite of all of Dumbledore's silly inventions and she may keep it when this was done. It may help her keep track of Lucy. Was that ethical? Maybe not but that girl definitely had a knack for getting herself into trouble.

Today though, Dorcas was acting quite strange. She was leaving the castle but wasn't telling Remus where she was going. Minerva frowned as she watched the girl pull her travel cloak on and pull the hood over her head.

"I'll see you after dinner, Remus," she said, as she headed for the door.

"Bye, Dorcas," Remus said, looking up from the book he was reading. "Stay safe."

Minerva waited a minute for Dorcas to leave the classroom they had been sitting in and Remus to turn his attention back on his book before slipping out the door as well. She followed Dorcas through the corridors towards the Entrance Hall when she heard giggling.

She and Dorcas turned a corner to find Lucy and Tonks whispering and giggling together as they walked in towards them. Dorcas smiled at them and said, "what are you two doing?"

The two girls stopped laughing immediately though they were smiling big smiles. They exchanged a look before both saying, "nothing..."

"Uh huh," Dorcas said skeptically.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lucy asked, noticing that she was wearing her travel cloak.

"Oh, I just have a meeting that I have to get to," said Dorcas. "What have you two done? I know you've done something."

Tonks laughed. "We may have done something."

"No, no, we didn't do anything," Lucy said, elbowing Tonks. In a lower voice she whispered, "plausible deniability."

Minerva sighed. This was probably something she would have to deal with when she returned. Dorcas wasn't buying it either. "Where are Bill and Charlie?"

"They didn't tell us," Tonks said innocently.

"We don't know what they're doing," Lucy said.

"Okay, well, I have to go," Dorcas said with a laugh. "I hope the castle doesn't go up in flames by the time I come back."

"It won't. They're not doing anything that involves fire," Tonks said with a laugh, earning her another elbow from Lucy. "I mean, I don't know what they're doing."

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Dorcas," the girls said.

"Stay safe," Lucy added. Dorcas gave her a smile before continuing to walk towards the Entrance Hall. Minerva moved closer to the wall so she wouldn't be seen but Lucy caught her eye. "Hey! It's -"

Minerva gave her a meaningful look and shook her head. Lucy stopped and looked away quickly. Tonks looked at her friend with a frown. "What?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's nothing," she said. She took Tonks's hand and started pulling her down the hall. "Come on, let's go find the boys."

"Okay," Tonks said.

Minerva watched them disappear around the corner before quickly heading out to follow Dorcas again. She raced down the corridor until she found Dorcas exiting the castle from the front door. She slipped out of the open door too and followed her through the grounds. She watched her go through the gates, talk to Moody and Podmore for a minute before Apparating away. Minerva waited a couple more seconds before transforming back into herself and walking through the gates too. Moody and Podmore greeted her and she walked a little further down the path before pulling out her wand to follow Dorcas.

" _Invenietis Illos_ ," she said quietly and disappeared.

Minerva reappeared in front of a small pub in London. It was a dingy little place. Was this it? Was she about to find out that Dorcas was here to meet with a Death Eater? She quickly transformed back into a cat, waited for someone to leave the pub and slipped inside. When she did, Minerva saw Dorcas sitting at a table with a man she had never seen before. He had brown skin like her, black hair and a beard that looked a lot like a lion's mane. Minerva snuck over and hid under their table.

"How are you Samir?" Dorcas asked. "How's India?"

Minerva tried to get a look at this Samir's arms to check for Dark Marks but his arms were covered.

"It's fine," he said. "A lot safer than it is here, Dorcas. Your parents are really worried about you, you know."

"I know," Dorcas said with a sigh. "I know but I can't run away from this. They know that. I have to stay here and help fight."

"We've read the articles about you in the paper," Samir said with a smile. "You're definitely good at what you do. Fifteen Death Eaters arrested at once, all on your own. That's very impressive."

She smiled a little. "I do what I can."

"I'm sure the Death Eaters are very scared of you."

He wasn't a Death Eater. Why would he talk about them like that if he was? Minerva would still feel better if she saw his arm, though.

"My name sends chills down their spines, I've heard," she said with a smile. "I'll be fine. Tell _Ami_ and _Abu_ not to worry."

"They still worry. We all do," Samir replied, smile fading. "War is not an easy thing to send your child off to. Come back to India with me."

"I know that's why you're here, Samir, but the answer is still no," Dorcas said, her smile fading too. "You know that I can't."

"I know," he said with a sigh. "I know."

"Let's not talk about that. Let's just be friends again and talk about something else," she said. "Not about our relationship or about the war. Tell me something new."

"I don't think I can," Samir said with a sigh. "I think we have to talk about this, Dorcas. I love you. We've been set to get married since we were young. Our parents are friends and your aunt is the one who set it up in the first place."

"I can't marry you, Samir. I've told you."

Suddenly Minerva felt very awkward and even more horrible. She definitely shouldn't be listening to this. This was much too personal.

"Why?"

"Because I don't love you," Dorcas whispered, looking down at her glass. "You are my friend. We've been friends since we were babies. Why can't we keep being that?"

"Your parents -"

"Do not speak for me," Dorcas interrupted with a frown. "Even if I did love you I can't marry anyone right now. I have a job to do, to focus on. I need to focus on that and then I can decide if I want to get married."

"But you won't marry me?" he asked with another sigh.

Dorcas gave him a small smile. "You are a wonderful person, Samir. You are very successful, intelligent and kind, but I'm not the one for you. You will find someone. Someone who will love you better than I can."

"Is there someone else?"

"There doesn't have to be. I know how I feel."

Minerva found her opening. Dorcas and Samir were distracted when a waitress came up to her table. She quickly moved from under their table to another, and then another, until she finally got to the door. She waited for it to open again and slipped out onto the cold London street. She found an alley where she transformed back into herself and Apparated back to Hogwarts, feeling absolutely horrible.

...

"Mum?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, love," Minerva said. She was sitting at her desk getting caught up on some marking that she had forgotten about. She didn't look up when she spoke.

Lucy walked around the desk and looked up at her. "Why were you following Dorcas the last night?"

Minerva looked up at Lucy. She looked the girl over and debated if she should lie or not. "I - well... I was just seeing who she was meeting with."

"Why didn't you just ask her?" Lucy asked with a frown, crossing her arms.

Minerva sighed. She put down her quill and rubbed her eyes. "Lucy, right now it's a little complicated. Your Uncle Albus has asked me to make sure nobody's meeting with someone they aren't supposed to be meeting with."

"But Dorcas would never meet with a Death Eater," Lucy said still frowning. She was not very happy with her mother spying on Dorcas. "She beats up bad guys! She doesn't help them!"

"I know," Minerva said. She picked Lucy up into her lap. "She wasn't meeting with them. We just wanted to be sure."

"You said that we have to trust our friends," Lucy said accusingly, glaring up at her mother and pushing her arm away. "You're not trusting Dorcas! She would never do anything to hurt anybody!"

"Lucy, yes we have to trust our friends but it's very complicated," Minerva said.

Lucy looked at her for a second. "You were watching Dorcas and you've probably been watching Remus too, right?"

Minerva sighed and nodded.

"They were both at James and Lily's Christmas party," Lucy continued, sounding deep in thought. "That's where I told them that we were going to Castletown and after that we were attacked."

"Lucy -"

"That means one of them had to have told the Death Eaters where we were going," Lucy deduced. Suddenly her face fell and she repeated more quietly, "one of them told the Death Eaters."

"Darling, you don't -"

"That's why you're following them. You're trying to find the person who's actually working for the Death Eater!" Lucy said, breathing getting faster and tears filling her eyes. "Someone we - we know is a Death Eater!"

"Lucy, it's okay," Minerva said, wrapping her arms around her daughter and trying to calm her down. "Sh... don't cry. We're going to find whoever it is. The spy is not our friend."

"But - but we trusted them... I - I trusted them," Lucy cried, burying her face into her mother's chest. "That means that it is my - my fault that _Nani_ 's house got destroyed! I shouldn't have told anybody! I'm s-sorry!"

"It's not your fault, darling," Minerva said softly, rubbing circles on her back. "It's not. You have to trust people. We have to have people in our lives that we can be open and honest with. That we can let all the way in. You were not wrong to trust your friends."

"But - but one of them is e-evil," Lucy whispered.

"We don't know it's one of them at all," Minerva lied. "It may have just been a coincidence. They may have just found us without being told where we were." She wasn't sure if this was any more reassuring. Lucy looked up at her, wide eyed, making Minerva realize, yes, not very reassuring. Minerva sighed and reached up to wipe the tears off Lucy's face. "Listen, I'm looking into it. I followed Dorcas and Remus, yes, but the only reason I did them first was to make sure they were safe to take you to and from school. I followed them and I found nothing. They were cleared. We can trust them."

Lucy nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She rested her head down on Minerva's chest, wrapping her arms around her. "I won't tell anyone anything," she whispered. "I can keep a secret. I shouldn't have been so stupid."

Minerva sighed and put a hand on the back of Lucy's head. "You are not stupid for trusting someone, darling. They're stupid for breaking your trust."

* * *

 _ **Sunday, January 10th 1999**_

A grey and black tabby cat ran through the open office door and jumped up on the desk. Dumbledore smiled down at it and reached out to pet it but before he got close enough it hissed and he quickly retracted his hand.

"My apologies," he said with a chuckle. "I assume that you're just getting back from your mission. Considering it is the last day before the start of term you are cutting it quite close, aren't you Minerva?"

The cat hissed again and jumped off the desk. It transformed back into a person and sat down on the chair. "I am thorough, is all," she said as she fixed her robes a little bit. "That's why you've given me that task, is it not?"

"Of course," Dumbledore said with a smile. "So what do you have to report?"

"I've been following Dorcas and Remus for the last week and I must say, I expected more from them. Especially Dorcas. She has such an interesting look and yet she is quite boring," Minerva said, making Dumbledore laugh. She had decided not to tell anyone about Dorcas's friend from India. It wasn't her story to tell. "All she does is drink with Remus and read. She is definitely clear. Remus does nothing either. I was hoping to find out that they were dating but I didn't even get that!"

"So they're both clear then?"

"Yes, but you're missing the point," Minerva said with a sigh. "They are not together but they are together."

"I do not follow."

"It's very complicated," she replied dismissively. "You should ask Nina to explain. I don't have time at the moment."

"Duly noted," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Alright, well I'm glad Dorcas and Remus have been cleared. It's very reassuring since they have been with Lucy every day this year."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, I'm glad I still have a good enough judge of character."

"I don't think you should take this that personally," he said, smile fading. She sighed and nodded again. "Excellent. So, next up I think you shall be stationed in front of the Potters' home in London."

"My timings will be altered and it will take much longer now since the term is underway," Minerva replied. He nodded. "Also I'll need someone to stay with Lucy at night. She's still frightened after the Castletown attack. She's not going to be very happy that I'll be leaving almost every single night."

"Well, Dorcas is at the castle. I'm sure Lucy will love the chance to have some sleepovers with her," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Of course," Minerva said with a small smile. "I'm so glad that Dorcas was cleared. I don't know what I would have told Lucy. You should hear her. 'Mum, Dorcas is so cool! She can do this and that.' 'Mum, Dorcas told me this today.' 'Mum, Dorcas showed me how to do this spell today.' 'Mum, did you know Dorcas knows how to play piano and guitar? She taught me a new melody. Well, it wasn't new, I knew it already but I pretended not to know it to be nice.'"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.

Minerva crossed her arms. "Of course not," she muttered. "I'm her mother. I don't need her to talk about me like that."

"I believe the only other person she talks about like that," Dumbledore said, "is that fictional hero she loves. What was her name? Oh, yes, Wonder Woman."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Oh you had to bring her up, didn't you?"

"Ah ha, you are jealous."

"Shut it," she muttered. "She also talks about Peggy Carter like that too now. Has she not told you about her yet? She learned about her two months ago and she already decided that she's her hero now. She had to write an essay about her hero for school and she chose to write about Peggy Carter. She was one of only three students who didn't write about one of their parents."

"She loves you just as much if not more, if that's what you're worried about Minerva," he said with a smile. "You don't have to worry about Dorcas Meadowes or Peggy Carter or Diana Prince."

"Diana Prince?" Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's Wonder Woman's alter ego. Has she not told you all about her? She loves going on and on about her," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "I feel like I know the woman personally now."

Minerva sighed and rubbed her temple with two fingers. "I've heard so much about her and the Batman and Peggy Carter. I just block it out now. I miss the days of princesses and fairies."

"Ah but Miss Prince is a princess," he replied smartly. "Daughter of Queen Hippolyta of the island of Themyscira."

Minerva shook her head. "You and her both are exhausting."

"Maybe that's the reason she doesn't talk about you the way she talks about them," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Okay," she said, standing up. "I think this meeting is over."

He laughed as Minerva exited the room.

...

"But I don't want you to go," Lucy whined. She was sitting on Dorcas's bed wearing her pajamas with her backpack sitting beside her. Minerva was kneeling in front of her holding her hands. "I hate it when you leave!"

Minerva sighed and gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'm sorry, darling," she said. "I'll be back before morning, I promise. You'll have fun with Dorcas while I'm gone."

"Yeah, we can stay up late and tell ghost stories!" Dorcas said with a smile. Minerva gave her a look and she quickly amended. "I mean, tell totally age appropriate stories and go to bed on time so that we are not tired for school in the morning."

Lucy laughed and Minerva shook her head. She stood up and tousled Lucy's hair. "Alright, I'll see you soon, my love," she said. "Sleep tight."

"Bye, bye," Lucy mumbled.

Minerva sighed. She looked over at Dorcas. "Thank you for this, Dorcas."

"Of course. It's no problem at all," she said with a smile, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Lucy. She pulled Lucy into a hug and tickled her. Lucy laughed. "I love having Lucy over. Besides, Remus is coming by a little later so he be able to control some of our combined crazy. Won't he, love?"

"Stop!" Lucy exclaimed, laughing hysterically. "Hahaha... please! Stop!"

Dorcas smiled and let her go. She stood up so that she could walk Minerva out. Minerva gave Lucy one last smile. "Goodbye, sweetheart."

"Bye, stay safe Mum," Lucy said.

"Of course," she said with a smile. Minerva walks out of the classroom, transformed into a cat and ran out of the castle so she could take up her station outside of the Potters' apartment.

With Minerva gone, Dorcas walked to the bed and sat back down. "Okay, love. What should we do?" Lucy shrugged. "Hmm... well, what's in your bag?"

Lucy picked up her backpack and opened it. Her cheeks went a little red and she closed it again quickly. "Nothing!"

"What is it?" Dorcas asked with a smile.

"It's... it's nothing," Lucy mumbled. Dorcas snatched the bag from her. "No! No!" Dorcas pushed her back with one hand and opened it with the other. Lucy glared at her. "You're just like my brother."

Dorcas laughed. "I never had a little sister but I assume this is what it would be like," she said. She opened Lucy's backpack and pulled out a stuffed tabby cat. "Ah! This is cute!"

Lucy snatched it back quickly. "Please don't."

Dorcas looked at her. "I'm sorry. Is it really important to you?"

"No. I don't need it. I'm a big girl," she said, putting the cat down on the pillow beside her, crossing her arms and sticking her nose up. "Big girls don't need stuffed animals to sleep."

"Oh, really?" Dorcas asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's news to me. I thought I was a big girl but now that you've told me that big girls don't need stuffed animals I guess I'm not."

Lucy looked at her and furrowed her brow. She thought Dorcas was lying. "You like stuffed animals too?"

Dorcas nodded. She stood up and walked over to a chest by her bed. She pulled out a stuffed light brown teddy bear. "Lucy, meet Mr. Tubby," she said with a smile, holding out the bear towards her. "Great name, I know. I got him when I was two. My dad won him at a fair for me in the Isle of Man."

"Really?" Lucy asked, taking the teddy bear from her and taking a closer look.

"Yep! Had it ever since," she said with a smile, walking back to the bed and sitting back down beside her. "So, what's the story behind yours?"

Lucy sighed. She handed Mr. Tubby back to Dorcas and picked up her stuffed cat. She held it out for Dorcas to see. "This is Tula. My daddy bought him for me when I was born," she said, looking down at the cat so she didn't have to look Dorcas in the eye. "He said that I was even tinier than him when I was born. I've had him ever since."

"Wow, that's really cool," Dorcas said with a smile. "So, do you like having Tula in the bed with you at night?"

"Sometimes," Lucy whispered. "Sometimes when Mum's away... I get scared because..." she lowered her voice even more, "Death Eaters."

"Oh," Dorcas said with a sigh. "I know they're scary but they won't come here. Hogwarts is very safe."

"Mum says they're scared of Uncle Albus," Lucy said.

"Yes," Dorcas said with a laugh. "They would never come here because they're afraid of what Professor Dumbledore would do to them if they did. He doesn't like them very much because they're so mean."

Lucy nodded. "They are mean. They found us in Castletown and now my _nani_ can't stay in her house anymore. She has to stay with my uncle but I'm not supposed to tell anyone where they live."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Dorcas said with a nod. "Don't worry, love. When the war is over your _nani_ will be able to go back home. And so will you and me and everyone else who lost their home to the Death Eaters."

"Where did you live before you moved to Hogwarts?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, I lived in London."

"I like London," Lucy said. "I want to live there when I grow up too. Like my Uncle Raj."

"Yeah, London is a great city," Dorcas said with a smile. "I can't wait to be able to go back when the war is over."

"And I can visit you!'

"Of course!" Dorcas said with a laugh. She tousled Lucy's hair a bit. "I expect you to come over all the time."

"And you can visit us in Rochester too," Lucy said. "I expect you to come over all the time too."

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, I promise."

"And Remus and James and Lily and Sirius too."

"Yes, of course."

"Are you and Remus going to live together after the war?" Lucy asked.

"W-what?" Dorcas asked.

"Like how James and Lily live together and Daniel and Nina live together," she replied.

"I - well... I don't know," Dorcas stammered. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you like each other!" Lucy exclaimed with a smile. "Nina thinks so too."

"Does she?"

"And Mum."

"Right," Dorcas said. She shook her head but smiled. "I don't know, Lucy. We'll see what we do when the war ends."

"But you do like him right?"

Dorcas thought for a second before nodding. "Yes, I do. Very much so."

"How do you know when you like someone?" Lucy asked thoughtfully, putting her finger on her chin. "I like people but not like... like-like."

"Well, you're still little," Dorcas said, shaking her head and laughing. "When you grow up you learn what you like-like in someone. It's not really something you can learn in a book. You have to learn as you age."

"Hmm..." she said. "That's stupid. I want to know now."

Dorcas smiled. "I'm sorry, love. I can't help you. It's something you have to figure out for yourself."

Lucy made a face and looked down at Tula. She thought about Nina and Daniel and James and Lily and her mum and dad. She made a face and said, "well, I like you and I like Anne and I like Wonder Woman. I don't need boys. Boys are gross."

"I agree," Dorcas said with a laugh. "Boys are a little gross."

Lucy smiled and looked up at Dorcas. "So, do you wanna play a game or something?" she asked.

"Sure? What should we play?"

"Hmm..." Lucy said thoughtfully, picking her bag back up and digging through it. She pulled out things as she spoke. "I have cards and I have books if you'd rather read or I have this board game called _Guess Who_ or this one called _Pay Day_."

"Ooh, I haven't played _Guess Who_ in a while," Dorcas said, taking the board game from her. "Do you want to play that?"

"Sure!" Lucy said.

Dorcas helped her put the other games back in Lucy's bag and then opened the _Guess Who_ box. They started playing and played for a little while before Remus showed up. Lucy did get to stay up late, despite anything Minerva may have said or implied, and Dorcas and Remus told her stories. Some from their own lives and others that they had picked up from other people. Some true and some not so true. Lucy liked staying with Dorcas and Remus and Dorcas liked having Lucy around. She thought of it as practice for when she had her own kids. She liked watching Remus with Lucy. She knew that Remus would be an amazing father when the time came, even if he thought that he wouldn't.

They had not meant to but eventually all three of them fell asleep laying in uncomfortable positions on Dorcas's tiny cot. Lucy had her head on one of Remus's arm and he had his other resting around her and Dorcas. Dorcas was curled up right beside Lucy. They were like their own little family staying here at Hogwarts as the war raged on outside.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday, February 10th 1999**_

"Look at this Lily!" James called excitedly, pointing at Harry who was starting to push himself up onto his hands and legs.

Minerva smiled. She was sitting low on the window sill of their living room window watching them like she did almost every night after getting off her classes and saying hi to Lucy when she got home. She saw Lily run into the living room.

"Is he doing it? Is he doing it?" she asked, just as excitedly.

"I think so! Where's the camera?" James asked, standing up and looking around the bookcases. He found the camera behind some books and pointed it at Harry. "Okay, Harry, let's see you go! Come on!" James got back down on his knees and really close to the baby. "Just one arm in front of the other. You can do it!"

Lily came over and pushed him back slightly. "Don't overwhelm him! You're making him nervous!"

Minerva laughed as the two doted over Harry. She was sure this kid would be very spoiled by the time he arrived at Hogwarts.

Harry finally moved one hand in front of him and then shakily lifted up the other. He moved forward slowly making Lily clap and cheer. James snapped a photo and it came out of the front of the camera. He held it out for his wife to see. She smiled as she watched the baby in the picture crawl for the first time.

James put the camera down and picked Harry up. He threw him up and down in the air making the baby giggle. "My son's a little baby genius!"

Lily laughed as she picked up a pen and started writing the date down on the photo. She walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a photo album to put the picture away. "Soon enough he'll be running around here driving us crazy!"

"And then after that, running around Hogwarts driving Minerva crazy!" James said with a smile, hugging his baby close. "Won't you, little one? You'll keep up the Potter family legacy, won't you?"

"What legacy is that?" Lily asked with a laugh.

"Being the most handsome and troublesome student at Hogwarts, of course," James replied happily.

"Troublesome probably but handsome? I don't know about that," Lily said with a smile. "I still think Sirius has you there."

James gave her a glare. "How dare you! My best friend? Really!"

Lily laughed, walked over and took Harry from her husband. "You are so lucky that you have me, love," she said quietly. "I will protect you from all your daddy's craziness."

Minerva smiled and watched them walk into the kitchen, James yelling about how he wasn't the crazy one, she was and Lily just laughing and telling him to calm down.

...

"Do you know where Mum is tonight, Uncle Albus?" Lucy asked as she moved her knight across the chessboard. She was staying with Dumbledore tonight while Minerva spied on some other Order member. She never told Lucy where she was going or who she was watching that night, no matter how much Lucy pestered her. Minerva didn't want Lucy to worry but not telling her only made her worry even more.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore said, staring down at the chessboard and furrowing his brow. "I'm sure wherever she is, she is being careful."

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled. She sighed and waited for him to take his turn. He was taking a very long time. "Do you think that there's a spy in the Order of the Phoenix?"

Dumbledore looked up at her. He studied her for a moment before giving a small nod. "I do," he said. "It's the most likely explanation for how they keep finding out what we're doing."

Lucy nodded, looking away again. Dumbledore finally made his move and Lucy quickly moved her bishop. He frowned and looked down at the board intently again.

"Do you think we'll win?"

"Win? I'm sure I'll beat you just give me a minute," he said, not looking up.

"No, the war. Do you think we'll win the war?" Lucy said, staring at her uncle.

Dumbledore looked up again and nodded. "I think we will."

"How can you be so sure?" Lucy asked.

"Because I think we have better people on our side," he said with a smile.

"But we have a spy," she said with a frown.

"Maybe but we still have some of the brightest witches and wizards on our side," he replied. He picked up his rook and moved it across the board. "And we have something that they don't have."

"What's that?" Lucy asked, wasting no time taking his piece. She had anticipated this move.

"Love," Dumbledore replied though he was looking down at the board very unhappily. He sighed and shook his head before looking back up at her and giving her a small smile. "I would never bet against love."

"What good would that do if they have power?" Lucy asked with a frown. She thought that he had some secret weapon that would wipe out all the Death Eaters and was thoroughly disappointed.

"Oh but, my dear, love is what gives you power," he said with a smile. "Without love you have nothing. The Death Eaters have nothing." He moved a piece across the board. "Check."

Lucy wasn't sure about that. It felt like the Death Eaters had numbers and power over them. It didn't feel like they had nothing. She sighed, moved her piece across the board and said, "Checkmate."

Dumbledore stared at the board for a moment before shaking his head but smiling. "Good game, Lucy, but I would have won in two more moves."

"I know," she said. "I knew what you were trying to do."

"You were toying with me then?"

Lucy smiled. "Maybe a little bit."

He laughed and put the chessboard away. "Alright, why don't we do something else now?"

"Tired of losing at chess?" Lucy asked with a laugh.

"You are too much like your mother."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And so it begins. The hunt for the spy is on!

I hope you liked this chapter. Please review!


	21. TLT -- 21

_**Monday, February 22nd 1999**_

"James and Lily are clear," Minerva said, entering Dumbledore's office a few days later.

He looked up and gave her a nod. "That's good to hear," he said as she walked up and sat down on the chair in front of his desk. "How was sitting in front of their house?"

"Cold," mumbled Minerva with a sigh. "It was quite nice watching them play with Harry. I felt... wrong, though. Like I shouldn't be there. I shouldn't be spying on them."

Dumbledore nodded again. "I know this is hard."

"Spying to find a spy," she muttered, leaning back in her chair. "So far I've just been invading the privacies of people I trust and who trust me."

"It has to be done, unfortunately."

"I know," she mumbled. There was silence for a moment where Minerva looked away and sighed. She shook her head and looked back. "Alright, who's next?"

"Amelia," Dumbledore replied. "She has a lot of trials and missions coming up so I want to be sure we can trust her."

"That's ridiculous, unnecessary and a waste of my time," Minerva said, furrowing her brow. "I've known Amelia for thirty seven years. She is not the spy. She's actually watching Lucy for me right now."

"It's just a pre-"

"She would never sell out her own brother," Minerva continued, voice increasing in volume. "They killed her grandparents, parents, brother, nieces and nephews! How could she be the spy? How could you think she would have had a hand in that?"

"Minerva, it's just to be -"

"She is the most loyal person I've ever met," Minerva spit. "She. Is. Not. The. Spy."

"Minerva, these are dark times that we are in - please let me finish," he said when she opened her mouth to speak again. "I know you two are great friends but we would be fools not to pursue any possibility."

Minerva glared at him. "How can I convince Lucy that it's okay to trust people while I don't trust one of my oldest friends?"

"These are dark times," he said again.

"That only get darker the less and less we trust each other," Minerva said. "I trust Amelia and after watching Dorcas and the others I don't want to do the same thing to her."

Dumbledore frowned. "What did you find?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I just felt horrible! I felt like I was trespassing and I don't want to do that to Amelia!"

"If she has nothing to hide you won't find anything," Dumbledore replied.

"This isn't you, Albus. When did you become this... this... dictator!"

"I am just trying to protect everyone on the Order and win this war," he said.

Minerva glared at him for a second before turning on her heel and leaving the room. She sighed as she walked through the dark Hogwarts halls towards her own bedroom. She knew Amelia could not be the spy. The idea was simply ridiculous. She should be focusing on the others. Even if she trusted them just as much, they seemed far more likely than the kind, loyal Amelia Bones.

Minerva walked through her office and in through the secret door to find Amelia sitting on her couch with her head stuck in the evening newspaper. Amelia looked up when she entered. "Welcome home," she said with a smile. "Kid's tucked away, a bit of food and tea on your bedside just in case and all those books you've just strone about your room have been cleaned up and organized into piles according to topic and year of release, just because I got bored and had nothing better to do."

Minerva smiled. "Wow, I should have you over more often," she said, walking over and flopping down on an armchair. She flicked her wand and the tray from her bedside table flew out of the room, setting itself on the coffee table in front of her. Minerva poured a cup of tea for the both of them and handed one to Amelia. "I have some marking that needs to be done if you would like to do that too."

Amelia smiled and took the cup form Minerva. "I don't think I'm qualified for that."

"Oh, I think you could manage," she replied. "So, how was Lucy?"

"Perfect as always," Amelia said with a smile. "She's happier than she was the last time I saw her."

"Yes, she was worried before but she feels safe at Hogwarts and Raj, Nina and Daniel send her letters almost every single day so she knows that they're safe too," Minerva said. "Also she gets to stay the night with her friends so often since I'm out all the time."

"Are you ever going to tell me where you go?" she asked.

"Sorry, I can't," Minerva said.

"Secret mission for Albus and all that, I know," Amelia muttered, leaning back on the couch. "Well, she may get to stay the night with her friends but she also misses her mother a great deal when she's gone. She worries, you know."

Minerva sighed. "I know. I wish I could stay with her. I'm just as unhappy about having to leave the safety of Hogwarts as she is but it has to be done, unfortunately."

Amelia nodded. She sighed and held out her paper for Minerva. "Have you seen this?"

Minerva took the paper from her and looked down at the article on the front page. _Seven Death In Manchester_. Death Eaters and Order members had gotten into a duel near Manchester city hall which had resulted in the death of six muggles and one Death Eater. They had managed to arrest three other Death Eaters. Minerva sighed and nodded. "Alastor told me a little while ago when I returned."

"The Death Eaters are starting to fight differently," Amelia said, sitting up straight again. "It is no longer as precise and calculated as it used to be. It's sporadic and chaotic. They're getting sloppy. It is a shame that those people had to die because of it but it shows that they're getting scared."

Minerva nodded. "Well, they have gotten a lot of our safe houses but recently the Order and Ministry raids have been very systematically arresting as many Death Eaters as possible. They still have great numbers but they're dwindling slowly."

"This is good for us, of course, but I would also predict that it could lead to more large scale attacks," Amelia said. "They may try bigger attacks or we may see You-Know-Who himself come out more and more because they are starting to lose."

"You're probably right," Minerva said quietly, setting her cup down on the tray and picking up a finger sandwich. She was starving and had not realized it until the tea hit her stomach. "God forbid we get a little bit of a break."

Amelia smiled a little. "Well, we may be getting closer to an end."

"I still don't see it."

"Eh, you're a cynic. You won't see it until it hits you upside the head," Amelia said with a smile. "And even then you'll be skeptical."

Minerva gave her a look and with a mouth full of sandwich said, "and you're an optimist. You make an end out of nothing at all."

"It's a happier way to live, I think."

"Is it? Because as a cynic, I'm never disappointed."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Minerva, you have two beautiful children in safe places."

"I count three," Minerva replied.

Amelia smiled. "Sorry, three beautiful children, a wonderful family, a home, friends, so much good stuff. Wouldn't you rather focus on that than on all the horrible stuff?"

"Hmm," Minerva mumbled, picking up another tea sandwich. "These sandwiches are pretty good."

Amelia rolled her eyes again. "That's a start, I suppose."

Minerva smiled a little and looked back up at Amelia. "Thank you for watching Lucy for me, Amelia," she said. "I really appreciate it."

Amelia smiled as she leaned over to grab a tea sandwich for herself. "It's no problem at all," she said. "I love watching Lucy."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday, March 17th 1999**_

"Your desk is absolutely filthy," Nina said. She and Daniel were at Hogwarts visiting during their Spring Break. She was sitting behind Minerva's desk trying to find the article that Minerva had asked for without much luck. She pulled out a parchment and looked it over. "This is from five years ago!"

"My desk is a little messy," Minerva said with a frown. She was sitting in front of the desk trying to get some work done even though her seat had been hijacked by Nina. "I just don't have the time to clean it out."

"You're so anal about everything else how do you manage with a desk like this?" Daniel asked, looking up from the book he was reading. He was sitting in the chair beside her. Minerva gave him a look making him laugh. He put up his hands defensively. "What? I'm just saying."

"Maybe just don't speak."

He was about to retort when Nina gasped. "Oh my god!" she said, pulling something out of the desk. "Look at these! They're so cute!"

She pulled out a tiny pair of ballet slippers that were about the size of her palm. Minerva smiled. "Yes, those were Lucy's very first ballet slippers from when she was three. I'm not quite sure how they found their way into my desk."

"These are adorable and I'm keeping them," Nina replied decidedly.

Minerva smiled and reached out for the shoes. Nina handed them to her and she turned them over in her hand. "Her feet used to be so small."

"They're still small," Daniel said absentmindedly as he turned his attention back to his book.

"They are so small," Nina said with a smile. "We should keep them safe somewhere."

"You say that about everything," Daniel said with a laugh. "If you had your way we would never throw anything away."

Minerva smiled. "No, I agree," she said. "I would like to keep these. They're important. Her first ever ballet shoes."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "You two are way too sentimental."

"If you had your way we would never keep anything," Nina mumbled. He smiled and shook his head. "It's been over a year. We should ask Lucy if she wants to go back to ballet. I miss her little recitals and I know she really loved it. I don't know why she gave it up."

Daniel sighed, shut his book, and looked at the shoes in Minerva's hands. "The reason she gave it up was because she it was something that made her happy," he said, "and she didn't want to be happy."

"Why not?" Minerva said with a frown.

"Because she felt like she shouldn't be happy. Because she thought that with Dad gone if she was happy it would be like she didn't love him," Daniel mumbled.

"That's ridiculous," Nina exclaimed.

"It is," he replied with a nod, "but once you believe something it's hard to make yourself stop."

"She's gotten a lot better now," Minerva said. "Maybe she'll want to go back. We can ask her. It may give her the extra push she needs to go all the way back to normal Lucy. Where is she anyway?"

"Down with Tonks, Bill, and Charlie," Nina said.

"Where else?" Daniel said with a smile.

"She'll be back soon," Nina said.

Minerva nodded and turned the shoes over in her hands. She sighed. "I'm going to get some tea. Would you too like some?"

They both agreed and Minerva called a House Elf to bring them some.

Lucy came back upstairs a little while later and found everyone gathered around the desk, drinking tea. She said her hellos and walked over. Minerva conjured up a chair so that she could sit as well and had a House Elf bring up some hot chocolate for her. They sat and drank their drinks for a while. Lucy told them about what she did with Tonks, Bill, and Charlie today.

"So, Lucy," Minerva said when Lucy had finished her story. "We were thinking, it's been over a year since you gave up ballet."

Lucy looked up at her for a second before looking away and giving a small shrug.

"Lucy, do you still not want to do it?" Nina asked.

"I dunno," she mumbled.

Minerva sighed and thought about how to do this. "I used to love watching you dance," she said. "You looked so happy up there."

"Do you like dancing?" Daniel asked.

Lucy looked up at him and thought for a second. "Ah... yeah, I guess," she said quietly, "but it doesn't matter. I'm not allowed to dance anymore. I got kicked out remember."

"Oh, that doesn't matter," Nina said with a smile. "If you want to dance, we can find you a new studio."

"Yes," Minerva said with a nod. "That will not be a problem."

Lucy sighed. She didn't speak for a moment, trying to think up another excuse. "What... what about school?" she said. "It might get in the way. I mean, I'm pretty busy with school."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her. "When have you worried about something affecting your school work? You literally barely do your homework."

"Hey, I'm doing it now," Lucy said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, you are," Minerva said with a smile. "So, I doubt you'll have a problem."

"Yeah, you have always been very good at balancing school and extracurriculars," Daniel said. "You've done it before. You can do it again."

"I've missed a year of practice," Lucy replied. "I'm probably no good anymore."

"They will teach anything you've forgotten," Nina said. "Though I don't think that will be a problem for you."

"But I can't even go to dance. I have to come straight back here after school," she said.

"I'm sure Remus and Dorcas won't mind taking you to dance a couple days a week," Minerva replied.

"But what about -"

"Okay, Lucy," Minerva interrupted, tired of hearing Lucy's excuses. "What is the real reason you don't want to dance anymore?"

Lucy shrugged. "I just don't want to, okay? You can't make me do something I don't want to do," she said quietly. She put down her mug and stood up. "I'm done. May I be excused?"

Minerva sighed and nodded. Lucy stood up and ran to the secret door. Nina stood up and pulled the torch to open it for her and she ran inside towards Minerva's bedroom where she was staying while Daniel and Nina were here.

Nina sighed and sat back down before shaking her head. "Well, that went wonderfully," she said sarcastically.

"Eh," Daniel said, "if she doesn't want to do it we can't force her."

Nina glared at him. She smacked his arm. "You're an idiot! Obviously she wants to do it. Something's just stopping her. Something she won't tell us."

"I think you're reading too far into things," Daniel said.

Nina glared at him and then turned back to Minerva. "Your children are exhausting."

"I know," Minerva said with a smile. "Daniel, Nina is right. Lucy does want to keep dancing."

"Alright, then go talk to her," he said with a shrug. "Try again."

"I will," Minerva said.

She used her wand to vanish the empty mugs before standing up and walking towards the door. Minerva walked back to her own bedroom and knocked on the door. Lucy didn't say anything. Minerva sighed and opened the door.

"Sweetheart?"

Lucy was sitting on the bed with the blanket over her head. Minerva smiled a little and walked over to the bed. She heard a soft delicate melody floating out from under the blanket. Minerva sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "Oh my, now where has my daughter gone?"

"I don't want to talk right now," Lucy mumbled.

"Okay," Minerva said. "You don't have to talk. How about you just listen?"

Lucy didn't respond and Minerva took this as a yes.

"I know why you don't want to do ballet anymore," she said. "Ballet was something you loved to share with your father. He brought you daisies every dance recital, didn't he? Well, he would want you to continue, Lucy. Even with him gone."

"I don't think I can," Lucy whispered. Minerva reached up and pulled the blanket off Lucy. She had tears running down her face and was holding a small mahogany jewellery box that had a small ballerina twirling inside it while the music played. Lucy wiped the tears away from her face and moved closer to Minerva. Minerva wrapped her arms around the little girl. "Mommy... I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to feel better but every time I do, I remember that he's gone and how horrible I am for being happy when he's gone. Daddy is dead, so many people are dead, and here I am laughing and singing and dancing. How horrible is that!"

"It's not horrible, my darling," Minerva said quietly, pulling Lucy into her lap. "I know you miss him. I miss him too but he would want you to smile, to laugh, to be happy without him."

"But the war. Shouldn't I wait till after the war is over to start ballet again?" Lucy asked.

Minerva shook her head. "No, love. You shouldn't put your life on hold for this war. The best way to fight this is to not give it the importance that it wants. You can't let it decide your life for you. You can't let it affect you like that. We cannot live our lives constantly thinking about the holes left behind by a loss. Some days are going to be hard. Some days you're going to feel cold and alone and stuck in a dark place but you are not alone. I am here, Daniel is here, Nina is here. We are all here for you and we want you to stand up, push through the darkness and find the light."

Lucy took a shaky breath and took one of Minerva's hands in hers. "How do you push through the darkness?"

"You let yourself be happy again," Minerva replied. She pushed some of Lucy's hair back and turned her chin up to look at her. She wiped the tears away from her face and gave her a little smile. "You embrace the things that make you happy." Minerva took the music box out of Lucy's hand and looked at the small ballerina doing twirls around inside it. "Does this make you happy, Lucy?"

Lucy looked down at the music box. She nodded and smiled a little bit. She got up out of the bed and took the music box away from Minerva. She walked over to the dresser and opened her box of important things. She put the music box inside and pulled out her ballet shoes. She then walked back to Minerva and handed her the shoes. "I'm going to need new ballet slippers. I think mine are too small now."

Minerva smiled and set the shoes down on the bed, taking Lucy's hands in hers instead. "We'll get you new shoes, darling," she said. "We'll get you everything you need."

* * *

 _ **Monday, March 22nd 1999**_

Late winter snow fell down around Minerva as she sat in her cat form staring at the telephone booth that she knew Amelia always used to exit the Ministry building in London. The snow settled in her hair and the cold wind made her hair stand on end. She already felt horrible sitting here and the cold only made it worse.

She turned to look at the time on a television in a shop window nearby. It was almost time. She looked back at where she had set the small Invenietor in the heel of a footprint. This plan was quite foolproof since no one but Amelia ever left through this door. It was old and got stuck quite often. They had debated closing it down on multiple occasions but each time no one actually got up and did anything about it. Bureaucracy, one of the many reasons Minerva had left the Ministry. Amelia, being a creature of habit, still used this door nonetheless. It was the entrance she used back in 1969 when she had first started working here and it would be the door she used until she finally retired. Though Minerva doubted that woman would ever retire.

Time passed and finally Minerva saw the inside of the phone booth disappear and another rise from below. Amelia opened the door and stepped out into the cold London streets, foot hitting its marker and Invenietor sticking to the bottom of her shoe.

Amelia began her walk towards a safe Apparition Zone that the Ministry had set up all around the Ministry building. Minerva followed a great deal behind her. She had to be more careful with Amelia than she had been with everyone else. She was more likely to realize that she was being tailed than Dorcas, Remus, James and Lily were. When they made it to the safe zone, Amelia pulled out her wand and disappeared. Minerva waited a few seconds before transforming back into a human and following her.

She expected Amelia just to Apparate back to her home at the edge of Camberley but when she reappeared she found herself on the edge of a cliff. She was in a cave behind a raging waterfall. Minerva frowned. She listened to the water crash below and felt the mist coming off from the falling stream inches away from her.

"What is this? Some sort of tracker."

 _So much for being careful._ Minerva turned on her heel and looked into the cave behind her. Amelia stood with her back against the wall of the cave and the small piece of glass in between her thumb and index finger, glaring at her. Her brown hair that had once been tied back in a neat bun was now falling slightly. She looked tired and angry. She threw the glass onto the ground in front of Minerva.

"Invenietor. One of Albus's creations," Minerva replied, using her wand to find and retrieve it. She stuffed it into her pocket and then looked back at the waterfall behind her. "Plodda Falls. Cute."

"Summer of '69, we sat at the edge of this cave and you told me about your recent engagement to Dougal McGregor," Amelia mumbled, pushing herself off the wall and walking slowly towards her. She stopped a couple of steps away. "Told me it was different from your parents. Told me that you wouldn't have to lock your wand away under your bed. Told me he would understand."

"You said are you sure," Minerva said quietly, voice almost drowned out by the waves outside. "'You haven't known him that long,' you said. 'How can you know for sure?'"

"Told you that it didn't matter what I thought. That at the end of the day it was up to you to decide what you wanted. You loved Castletown but were you alright with living and dying there. Giving up your dreams for his. Giving up your world for his. You decided no."

"And I don't regret it."

"Since then we've come back here every time we had something important to tell each other," Amelia continued. "This is where I told you about my judgeship and then my promotion to the Council of Magical Law. You told me that you were leaving for Hogwarts. Your engagement to Elph. When Karen got pregnant for the first time. After Elph's dead. When you met Jay. Oh, when you met Jay. 'He is the sweetest man I've ever met and he has a son who is the politest little gentleman. You should meet them, Amelia.'"

Minerva sighed. "'I never thought I would ever feel this way ever again.'"

"Then when you got pregnant with Lucy," Amelia said. "We have shared so many of the biggest moments in each other lives. We've told each other all our secrets... and yet... yet you still don't trust me."

"Amelia, no, this is not -"

"You think I believe the bullshit he preaches? You think I would sell out my own brother and his family? You think I would help the people who killed my parents and grandparents? You think I would ever do anything to harm Lucy or Daniel? I love those children as if they were my own," Amelia said, tears welling up in her eyes but voice staying calm. It was worse than if she had just straight up yelled. Minerva would have liked that better than this level, disappointed tone. "I loved you like my own sister and you never trusted me."

"No! I do trust you! Why would I let you around Lucy and Daniel if I didn't trust you?" Minerva said, tears filling her eyes too.

"I've lost so much, Minerva. I've had my heart broken so many times during these long years of war," she said, tears falling down her cheeks. "But I never... ever thought that you would be the one to break it even further."

"Amelia -"

She was gone. She had Apparated away. Minerva stared at the space that she had once occupied for a long time. Was this it? Was their friendship going to up in flames? Thirty seven years of mutual love and respect all ruined in five minutes. Minerva felt the tears running down her face. This is exactly what she didn't want to happen. She knew that Amelia could never have been the spy. She should never have tried to follow her.

Minerva wiped the tears off her cheeks and Apparated back to Hogwarts. She walked through the gates and the guards did not bother her too much, seeing that she was in a foul mood. She walked through the corridors and up to her office. She walked in to find Dorcas sitting at her desk with Lucy as the girl did her homework. Lucy looked up and smiled.

"Mum!"

"Hey, Minerva," Dorcas said with a smile.

"I thought you weren't coming back till tomorrow morning!" Lucy said excitedly, getting up and walking around the desk. She held a few pages up towards her. "I got my essay on Peggy Carter back! I got a hundred percent, look!"

"That's nice, Lucy," Minerva said very dismissively and a little coldly, though she had not intended to do so. She made no move to look at the papers in Lucy's hands, instead walking around her and heading towards the door to her private quarters. "I'll look at it later."

Without waiting for a reply, Minerva walked through the trapdoor and into her bedroom. Lucy watched her go, smiling fading. She looked over at Dorcas and asked, "did - did I do something wrong?"

"No, love," Dorcas said with a small smile. "I'm sure she's just tired. It'll be okay." She motioned for Lucy to come back and sit down beside her. "Let's finish this up. Tell me more about the math you're doing."

"Okay," Lucy said though all her enthusiasm was gone now.

...

"Mum?" Lucy called through her mother's locked bedroom door. "Mum, it's time for dinner!"

There was no answer. Lucy frowned and knocked even louder. "Mum!"

"Lucy, please go down with Dorcas," Minerva's voice came through the door. "I will not be coming down today. I'm not feeling well."

"Dorcas left already," Lucy said, starting to get worried now. "She said that since you were back you would probably want to go down together. Mum, are you okay?"

There was silence for a long time before the door clicked and opened on its own. Lucy walked inside the dark room and saw her mother laying in her bed. She walked over a little nervously and climbed up. "Mum?"

Minerva turned over and looked at her. "I'm just not feeling well right now, darling," Minerva said softly. "I'm okay. Just a little sick."

"You scared me," Lucy said, reaching over and turning on a lamp on the bedside table. The lamp illuminated the room, adding a little bit of warmth back to the once cold darkness. She moved closer to her mother's side and put a hand on her forehead like Nina did when she was sick. "You don't feel warm," she said, in the best professional voice she could muster making Minerva smile a little bit before pushing her hand away. Lucy then got an idea. "Oh! I'll be right back."

Minerva watched her go with a frown. She sighed and sat up a little, leaning her back against the headboard. Lucy came running back into the room, carrying a small brown bag with a red cross on the front. She climbed back up on the bed and opened it up. Lucy pulled out a plastic headmirror and put it around her head. Then she pulled out a toy stethoscope and put it in her ears.

"My name's Dr. Collins," she said in a business like voice. "I'll be your doctor today."

Minerva smiled a little and decided to play along. "Oh, Doctor, I'm glad you're here. I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately."

"Hmm, let's take a look," Dr. Collins said. She leaned over and put the stethoscope down on Minerva's chest. "Hmm, interesting." She then felt her mother hands. "Yes, very interesting." She took the stethoscope out of her ears and let it fall around her neck. She pulled out a little rubber hammer and hit Minerva's knees gently. She didn't hit them in the right place however so there was no reflex response. She shook her head a little. "Oh no."

"What is it, Dr. Collins?" Minerva asked.

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, Ma'am, but I'm afraid you might be a... vampire!" Dr. Collins exclaimed. "You don't have a heartbeat, your hands are cold and your legs don't move when I do this." Lucy hit her on the knee again, this time a little harder, and still got no response.

"A vampire? No, it can't be!" Minerva said dramatically.

"Do you have a thirst for human blood?" she asked, putting her hammer, stethoscope, and headmirror away in her bag.

"Hmm, well," Minerva said. "Now that you mention it..."

Minerva grabbed Lucy by the arm and pulled her towards her, tickling and pretending to bite her. Lucy laughed and squirmed trying to get away. "No! Don't make me a vampire too! I like Italian food too much!"

Minerva laughed. "You don't want to be a vampire because you like Italian food too much?"

Lucy looked up at her and smiled. "They use a lot of garlic," she said, moving a little so she was sitting beside her mother now instead of on top of her.

"Oh, I see," Minerva said with a smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"So are you feeling better?" Lucy asked. "You look better."

"I do feel a little better. Thank you, Dr. Collins," Minerva said. "But I don't think I'm up for going to the Great Hall for dinner tonight. Why don't we just eat here?"

"Okay," Lucy said, leaning into her mother's chest.

"And maybe you could show me your essay that I didn't get to see earlier," Minerva said, trying to make up for how rude she had been before. "I'm very proud of you for getting a hundred percent, my love, and I would love to read it."

Lucy smiled. "Okay! I think you'll like it because you like Peggy Carter too right?"

"Yes, I do," Minerva said with a smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Introducing new character Dr. Collins. I do question her methods but I can't deny that she gets the job done! Anyways, it seems the war is getting pretty intense and it's sad to see its affects on even the strongest relationships.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please don't forget to review! It makes me happy to see that real people are out there enjoying my story!


	22. TLT -- 22

_**Saturday, March 27th 1999**_

Five days had passed and in those five days, Minerva had sent five letters to Amelia. All with no response. Minerva had not gone to investigate anyone else on the Potter's dinner party guest list, she hadn't eaten in the Great Hall, and she hadn't spoken with Dumbledore. Lucy was surprised by her mother not leaving Hogwarts for five days in a row. She didn't mind not going to the Great Hall for meals, preferring to stay with Minerva. Minerva had told her that she could go down and eat with her friends but Lucy refused.

Today Lucy came out into the office dressed up for the day. Minerva looked over and raised an eyebrow at her. "Is your hair done?" she asked, looking at Lucy's very badly plaited hair. "Why have you done your hair?"

"Aunty Amelia's taking me to Hogsmeade today, remember!" Lucy said with a smile, walking over to her mother's desk. "Can you fix it? I did it badly."

Lucy jumped up on Minerva's lap so she could fix her hair. Minerva sighed and pulled the elastic out of the end of the braid. "Uh, Lucy, I'm not sure if your Aunt Amelia is coming today," she said as she ran her fingers through the hair to open up the braid. "She... she hasn't really been feeling well lately."

"But she promised," Lucy said with a frown, looking back at her mother. "She said we could get chocolate from Honeydukes and toys from Zonko's Joke Shop! Did she send a letter saying that she wasn't coming?"

"No, but -"

"Then she'll come," Lucy said matter-of-factly, smile returning to her face. "She always keep her word."

Minerva didn't say anything. She re-braided Lucy's hair and she slid down from Minerva's lap. She really hoped Amelia came. She wasn't sure how well Lucy would take her absence. Minerva opened her desk drawer and pulled out a coin purse. She looked inside and took out a few galleons, Lucy didn't need to spend that much. "Here, spend it wisely," she said, handing Lucy the purse. "And don't lose it."

"Thank you!" Lucy said with a nod before carefully putting it away in her coat pocket. Just then there was a knock at the door. Lucy ran to the door excitedly and opened it up. "Oh. Hi, Uncle Albus."

"That is definitely not the warmest welcome I've ever received, my dear," he said with a chuckle as he walked into the office.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said with a smile. "I just thought you were Aunty Amelia. She's taking me to Hogsmeade today!"

"That's nice," Dumbledore said. "You must try the Pumpkin Pasties at Honeydukes. They're quite good." He looked over at Minerva, who hadn't looked up from her desk at him since he walked in. "Hello, Minerva."

"Albus," Minerva muttered, still not looking up. "Why are you here?"

Lucy was surprised by her mother's rudeness. She and Dumbledore shared a confused look. Dumbledore walked over and sat down in front of her. "Well, you and Lucy have not been down to the Great Hall at all this week. I merely wanted to make sure you were both alright."

Minerva didn't respond. Lucy walked over too and said, "Mum wasn't feeling well and said that she didn't feel like going down to the Great Hall. We've been eating here."

"Oh, I see," Dumbledore said, looking at Minerva.

There was silence for a long time. Lucy felt very awkward. She wasn't sure why there was so much tension in the room. She had thought that her mother and her Uncle Albus were friends. Best friends. Why were they acting so strange? Were they fighting?

There was another knock on the door and Lucy ran back to answer it. She opened the door and smiled up at her Aunty Amelia. "Hey!"

"Hello, Lucy," Amelia said with a smile. "Guess who decided he wanted to tag along to Hogwarts."

"Hello, Princess," Raj said with a smile.

"Uncle Raj!" Lucy said happily, hugging him. "Are you coming to Hogsmeade with us too?"

"No, I do have some work to get done but I thought I would come by and do my work here since it's been so long," Raj said with a smile, picking her up and walking into the office. "Hello, Minerva, Albus."

"Hello, Raj," Minerva mumbled, still not looking up from her papers.

"Raj, how are you?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm good, thank you," he said with a smile. "So, love, I'll do my work while you and Aunty Amelia go out to Hogsmeade and then when you come back we can do something fun."

"Okay!" Lucy said with a smile as Raj put her down. She ran back over to Amelia and took her hand.

Amelia smiled. "Ready to go?"

Lucy nodded. "Yep!" she said. She looked back at her mother. "Bye, Mum!"

Minerva finally looked up and gave Lucy a little smile. "Goodbye, darling. Be good for your Aunty Amelia," she said. "Why don't you wait in the hall for a moment so we can talk for a minute."

"Okay," Lucy said with a frown. She looked from Amelia to Minerva to Dumbledore and Raj before walking out the door. Was everyone mad at each other?

Amelia glared at Minerva and closed the door behind Lucy. Raj looked between them before looking at Dumbledore who gave a little shrug. Minerva flicked her wand at the door so Lucy wouldn't be able to hear.

"I thought you might not come."

"I may be angry at you but I would never take that out on that little girl," Amelia muttered angrily, crossing her arms. "Of course, you would think I would though, wouldn't you?"

"Amelia, I -"

"Albus," Amelia said, ignoring Minerva now and giving Dumbledore a little nod. "Sorry, I just noticed you were here too."

He gave her a small smile. "Hello, Amelia."

"What exactly is going on?" Raj asked with a frown as he walked over and sat down beside Dumbledore in front of Minerva's desk.

"Nothing," Amelia replied. "Just here to drop you off and pick up Lucy."

"There's a spy in our ranks, I've told you," Minerva said with a sigh, looking over at Raj. "I've been investigating everyone to make sure it's not them. She's angry with me for investigating her."

"I'm angry with you," Amelia retorted, crossing her arms, "for thinking I would ever sell out my friends and family!"

"Okay," Raj said, "um... I don't think this is -"

"Don't, Raj," Amelia said dangerously. "Just don't."

"Amelia, I was the one who asked her to do that," Dumbledore said. So this was the reason that Minerva had been avoiding him. Amelia must have caught her tailing her. He sighed and shook his head. "I've asked her to investigate everyone. Not just you."

"She didn't have to do it," Amelia said. She turned to Minerva. "I don't want to hear your excuses. Stop sending me your letters. I trusted you but you didn't trust me. I thought I had proven myself to be trustworthy but I guess it wasn't enough for you. I suppose I should have known. You never let anybody in all the way, do you?"

Before Minerva could say anything, Amelia turned on her heel and walked out the door. Minerva watched her go before rubbing her face with her hands. Dumbledore gave her a sympathetic look. "Minerva -"

"I don't want to hear it, Albus," she interrupted, putting a hand up to stop him. "Please leave."

Dumbledore sighed and stood up. "It was nice seeing you, Raj," he said. "I hope you enjoy your stay at the castle."

"Goodbye, Albus," Raj said.

Dumbledore gave a little nod and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. When he was gone, Raj turned and looked at Minerva.

"That really sucked," he said.

She gave him a look. She was about to retort when suddenly she couldn't. She turned away as the tears fell down her cheeks. "I didn't want to," she whispered. "I trust her. I do. Albus asked me to make sure. I knew it was stupid and I - I shouldn't have done it... but... I don't know."

"I know," Raj said with a sigh. He leaned forward and took her hand. "It'll be okay. She'll get over it and forgive you. It just takes time. I mean, taking Lucy out is a good sign, isn't it?"

"Of course she would still take Lucy out," Minerva said. "She loves her. She wouldn't punish Lucy for something I did. I shouldn't have doubted her."

"I think," Raj said, "that war makes you doubt a lot of things in your life that you were once so certain about. When the core of your world is being shaken, it's hard to know where you stand and it's easy to start doubting the most solid things in your life. I think Amelia understands that and I think that eventually she will forgive you."

Minerva sighed. "I hope so," she mumbled. She looked up at Raj for a second and then down at their hands. She pulled her hand away and wiped her cheeks. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"Being a mess," Minerva mumbled. "I've been a complete mess this whole week and I think I'm really scaring Lucy."

"I think Lucy'll be fine," Raj said. "You're stressed right now. You're allowed to be a mess."

Minerva smiled a little. "I'm glad you decided to drop by, Raj," she said. "It's been a while."

"It has," he said. "I was worried about you all. Especially after what happened in Castletown in December. I hope that you find this spy soon. You'll all be safer once they're caught."

Minerva sighed. "Me too but I don't think I can investigate anyone right now," she said. "I don't want to investigate my friends anymore."

Raj gave her a reassuring look. Minerva sighed and looked back down at her papers. "I should get back to this. You have a lot to do?"

"I do," Raj said with a nod. He pulled a tiny briefcase out of his pocket and gave her a little smile. "Mind unshrinking this for me?"

"Of course," Minerva said with a small smile. She pulled out her wand and with a flick the briefcase grew to full size. Raj thanked her and then started pulling his files out of it. They both started their work in silence.

...

"Hogsmeade Village is the only all wizard village in all of Britain," Amelia said with a smile as she took Lucy's hand and led her down the moving staircases of Gryffindor Tower. "You've been here a long time. I'm surprised you've never gone."

"Mum's too busy," Lucy said with a sigh. "She's always doing stuff for Uncle Albus or trying to finish all of the Hogwarts stuff that she has to do as well. She's kind of stressed out."

"Hmm," Amelia mumbled, smile fading.

"Why are you mad at her?" Lucy asked, looking up at her aunt.

"I'm not -"

"You're lying."

Amelia looked down at Lucy with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you so smart?"

Lucy laughed and shrugged. "My DNA?"

"Right," Amelia said with a shake of her head though she was smiling again. "Well, sweetheart, sometimes people do things that make you a sad. I'm not mad at her. I'm just sad."

"What did she do?" Lucy asked.

"That's nothing for you to worry about. All that matters right now is that I take you out to have some fun, right?" she said, trying to make Lucy drop the subject.

"Yeah," Lucy said, though she wasn't quite ready to let this go. She would probably bring it up again later.

"Alright, so, Hogsmeade was actually founded by a Hufflepuff, you know?" Amelia said with a smile, bringing them back to the topic at hand as they walk out of the castle and down towards the gates. "Now, Hogwarts students in year three and higher are allowed to go down to the village on some weekends. There are a lot of little shops and things that you might like."

"Uncle Albus said to try the Pumpkin Pasties at Honeydukes," Lucy said with a smile. "Said they were really good."

"They are," Amelia replied. "We'll go to Honeydukes and Zonko's. We'll have lunch at the Three Broomsticks and then we can go to Dominic Maestro's Music Shop. I love that little store. They have both wizard and Muggle records. You probably listen to a lot of muggle music, huh?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah but I've listened to some wizard bands too since we came here. Mr. Tonks loves listening to the radio. It's always playing in the background in their room."

"What is your favourite band?"

"I like the Hippogriffs and Vampire '75," Lucy said with a smile.

Amelia smiled. "Yes, they're quite good. I like a lot of older artists like the Singing Hags and Twenty Pumpkins and Izabella Monty. I'm guessing you've never heard of them."

Lucy shook her head. "Sorry."

"That's okay," she replied with a smile. "I can show you some when we go down to Maestro's and maybe you can show me some of the Muggle bands that you like as well."

"Okay!" Lucy said excitedly.

They made it to the gate, went through and walked down the path to the village. They walked down to Honeydukes first. As soon as they walked into the tiny little shop, Lucy was hit with the sweet smells of chocolates and vanilla. The shop was filled with shelves of colourful sweets. It was like a seven year old's heaven! Lucy ran around trying the free samples of Sugared Butterfly Wings and Treacle Fudge. She tried a Pepper Imp and breathed fire down the aisle, singeing the bottom of Amelia's robes. Amelia just laughed and used her wand to fix her robes. Lucy wanted to buy one of everything but she knew that she did not have enough money for that and wasn't sure how happy Minerva would be if she came home with only bags of sweets. Amelia was starting to think that maybe they shouldn't have started at the sweetshop. Lucy ended up buying only a few things, Amelia talking her down from some of the more annoying puddings. Lucy bought a Pumpkin Pasty, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a Chocolate Frog, and a box of Honeydukes Best Chocolate.

After that they made their way into Zonko's Joke Shop. This shop was alive and buzzing. Miniature Dragons flew around and breathed fire overhead, Shrieking Pens screamed bloody murder when picked up, and Singing Socks sung various songs all involving feet. Lucy bought Bubble-Blowing Sweets that she couldn't wait to give to Bill, Charlie and Tonks. She also bought a set of Nose-Biting Teacups that she was sure she could slip into her mother's set. She avoided the Dungbombs, deciding they were much too smelly and mean for her. She prefered the silly, mostly harmless pranks.

From there they headed down to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Amelia led the way to the counter where she ordered food and drinks from a woman named Madam Rosmerta. She was a tall, curvy, attractive young witch with brown curly hair and glittery six inch heels.

"So, you're Minerva's little girl, huh?" Rosmerta asked with a smile, looking down at Lucy. Lucy nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you, Miss. Your mother talks my ear off about you."

"Really?" Lucy asked with a laugh.

"Yes," she said, sounding tired all of a sudden. "Doesn't like talking to anyone about anything but loves to brag about her amazingly smart daughter."

"Yes, because you're definitely one to talk, Rosmerta," Amelia said with a laugh. "It's not like you talk nonstop every chance you get."

"I resent that, Amelia," Rosmerta said though she smiled. She walked down the bar and poured some juice for Lucy and some Butterbeer for Amelia. She handed them both a glass. "So, how are you doing, Amelia? It's been awhile since you've been down here."

"Oh, same old, same old," Amelia said. "Been very busy lately, you know how it is down at the Ministry. I just came up here to take Lucy out for a day of fun."

"Are you having fun, Lucy?" Rosmerta asked.

"Yes!" Lucy said with a big smile. "We went to Honeydukes and Zonko's Joke Shop!"

"That's exciting," Rosmerta said with a smile. She turned back to Amelia and leaned in closer. "So, what you've missed... Howard over there just got put on probation! Showed up to work piss drunk," she said, motioning with her head over to a pudgy, middle aged man drinking whiskey at lunchtime. Lucy thought he looked quite sad. "And Sharon's threatened to leave with the kids."

"Wow," Amelia said, very aware that this was probably not a conversation they should be having in front of Lucy even if Rosmerta wasn't. "Um, well -"

"And that's Iza Carmen. Just moved up the street all the way from Spain," Rosmerta continued, unaware of Amelia's uneasiness. "Has three children... all of different fathers!"

"I think that we should probably find a table while we wait for our food," Amelia said, giving Rosmerta a significant look and nodding slightly towards Lucy.

"Oh! Yes, of course," Rosmerta said, blushing a little bit. Apparently she had already forgotten about Lucy's presence. "Food'll be out in a minute."

Amelia took Lucy's hand again and led her over to a free table near the back of the pub. Lucy looked up at her and said, "Madam Rosmerta is a little... nosy."

Amelia smiled. "Oh, yes, she is the biggest gossip I've ever met," she said as she pulled out a chair for Lucy and then sat down herself. "Never let her know any of your secrets. They'll be spread all through Hogsmeade about five minutes after you do."

Lucy smile. Rosmerta brought them their burgers and fries, offered them a refill on drinks and then left them alone again. Lucy waited for her to be far enough away before looking back at Amelia and, with a mouth full of fries, asked, "Did Mum tell one of your secrets?"

Amelia gave her a look. "I thought I told you not to worry about that."

"Did she?"

"No."

"Did she do something really bad?"

"Lucy," Amelia said with a sigh. "I don't want you to think badly of your mother. Just because we're not on very good terms right now doesn't mean that she's did something bad."

"Then why are you fight?" Lucy asked. "I thought you were friends."

 _So did I_ , Amelia thought. She sighed and shook her head. "We are friends. Sometimes friends fight."

"But then they make up," Lucy said matter-of-factly. "You and Mum should make up and be friends again and not be angry anymore."

"I'm not -"

"Or sad anymore," Lucy replied.

Amelia smiled a little. She shook her head again, reached over and grabbed some of Lucy's fries. "You'll understand more when you're older."

"I hate it when people say that," Lucy muttered with a sigh.

Amelia laughed. "I'm sorry but it's true."

They ate their lunch and then headed back out to High Street to go into some of the other shops. They looked at the weird moving plants in Dogweed and Deathcap. Amelia stopped Lucy from buying a Devil's Snare plant. They listened to music at Dominic Maestro's Music Shop, looked at books in Tomes and Scrolls, potions in J. Pippin's Potions, and quills and stationary in Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. They looked at the new, high tech Quidditch supplies at Spintwitches Sporting Needs. Lucy looked at the new broom in the window display. _Nimbus One Hundred; the fastest broom in all of Europe_. Lucy asked if she could buy a broom and Amelia showed her some of the children's brooms they had on display. That was not really what Lucy had in mind though.

"You can have a broom when you turn twelve," Amelia told her, making Lucy frown. "By then they'll have taught you how to ride one in school."

From the sporting goods store they went to Dervish and Banges, a shop that sold and repaired magical instruments. It sold loads of different magical objects like Sneakoscopes and Rememberalls. Amelia told Lucy she didn't need a Sneakoscope since she had the bracelet Mr. Doge had given her for Christmas which did the same thing without being as obvious. Lucy agreed and bought a silver globe of the moon instead. They went to Gladrags Wizardwear next. Amelia tried to get Lucy to try on some fancy robes and dresses for her but Lucy wasn't very interested in that. Instead she looked at the socks that shrieked when they got to smelly, thinking about buying a pair for Daniel. After they left the clothing shop, Amelia took her to the outskirt of Hogsmeade to see the Shrieking Shack.

"People call this the most frightening building in Britain," Amelia said. "Someone bought the land and began construction of the house but people say that it was never completed because something terrible happened."

"What?" Lucy asked, looking up at her aunt.

"I don't know. Nobody knows," Amelia replied. "But whoever was building it didn't do a very good job. There are no windows or doors."

"Maybe they accidentally built it around themselves and got trapped!" Lucy exclaimed with a wide eyes, staring at the brown, wooden, falling apart house.

"Maybe," Amelia said with a laugh. "Though I'm not sure why they wouldn't just Apparate out if they had or blast their own door. Either way, whoever was building it abandoned it and residents started reporting hearing terrifying screaming coming from the building. They think it's haunted."

"Maybe it is," Lucy said, walking closer to the wire fence looking over the scary looking building. "There are a lot of ghosts at Hogwarts."

"Yes but not even those ghosts will come here," Amelia said. "If there are ghosts in there they are not very nice like the ones at Hogwarts. They scream like they're getting hurt. Maybe there's something in there that can hurt ghosts."

"Hurt ghosts?" Lucy said. What could possibly hurt something that was already dead?

Amelia smiled and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "They're just stories, darling. I don't believe there's anything in there. I think people just like to tell stories to scare each other and threaten their children."

Lucy smiled. "Can we go in?"

"No, like I said, there are no doors."

"We could Apparate in or blast our own door," Lucy said, repeating Amelia's own words back to her.

Amelia shook her head. "I hate how much you remember," she said, letting go of Lucy's shoulder and walking away back to Hogsmeade. Lucy laughed and ran to catch up to her, taking her hand again.

The sun was starting to set now and it was almost time for dinner. Amelia took Lucy back up the path towards Hogwarts. She dropped Lucy off in front of Minerva's office and said goodbye without going inside. She didn't want to see Minerva again. Lucy sighed. She had tried to have her mother and aunt make up but it looked like it was going to be harder to do than she had thought. Maybe she should just ask Dumbledore for help.

She went into the office and found her mother and uncle sitting where she had left them. Minerva looked up and gave her a small smile as she walked in.

"Wow, looks like you did quite a bit of shopping," she said, looking at Lucy's bags.

"Not that much," she said with a smile, putting her bags down and racing over to her mother. She pulled the coin purse out of her pocket. She held it up for Minerva and Minerva took it from her. "I didn't spend all the money you gave me. Wizard money is weird."

Minerva laughed and shook her head as she put the purse back into her desk.

"It is weird," Raj said. "Couldn't just use a simple base ten system like us?"

"I didn't decide the system. I'm sorry but I don't have the answers you seek," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy walked around to Raj's side of the desk now. "Are you done your work now, Uncle Raj?"

"Yes, I am," he said with a smile.

"Yay!"

Raj got up and grabbed her, tickling her. She squirmed around and laughed loudly. Minerva watched them and shook her head. They might be done but she still had a lot of work to do. Raj saw that and he decided to take Lucy inside to play in the private rooms so Minerva could finish her work in peace. He picked up Lucy's bags and helped her take everything inside. Minerva smiled and thanked him.

Once inside, Raj and Lucy sat down on the floor in the sitting room and Lucy showed him everything she had bought in Hogsmeade. She told him all about her trip. About Honeydukes. About the Three Broomsticks. About the Shrieking Shack. Raj thought the Shack sounded very interesting. She told him how she had wanted to buy a broom but Amelia had said no.

"That might be for the best, love," Raj said with a laugh. "Though a broom does sound pretty cool."

Lucy nodded. "She said I could get one when I was twelve but that's so far away!"

Raj smiled. "Only five years."

"That's a long time, Uncle Raj," Lucy said sadly.

"It'll go by faster than you know it, I'm sure," he said with a smile.

"Uncle Raj?"

"Yes, love?"

"Do you know why Aunty Amelia and Mum are fighting?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, Princess," he said with a sigh, "but I'm sure whatever it is they'll get over it and make up soon."

"I wish they would do it now," Lucy said, looking down at her new spellbook. "I don't want them to fight. They're best friends."

"They are," Raj said with a nod, taking the book from her and opening it up so they could look at the pictures inside. Lucy flipped through the pages absentmindedly. Raj gave her a little smile. "That's why I know that they will make up eventually. Friends fight sometimes but best friends always make up."

"You think so?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, I think so," Raj said with a smile, closing the book and setting it aside. "Don't worry. They just need some time apart to think about it and then soon they'll both come to their senses, apologize, and be best friends again."

"Okay, good," Lucy said with a smile.

Raj smiled. "Now, I know it's almost time for dinner but I don't think it would be too bad if we had a little bit of that chocolate you bought, do you?"

Lucy laughed. "No," she said pulling the Honeydukes bag closer to her so she could grab the box of chocolates.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Amelia was very hurt by the implication she could be working for the Death Eaters. How could she be? She's Amelia Fucking Bones!

She's still Lucy's Aunty Amelia though!

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, I love hearing from you!


	23. TLT -- 23

_**June 1996**_

 _"It's going to be weird not waking up and coming down to the Great Hall for breakfast everyday," Lily Evans said with a sigh, falling down next to Marlene at the Gryffindor table for breakfast that morning._

 _Mary MacDonald smiled. "I'm going to miss you guys," she said. "It's going to suck not seeing you all everyday."_

 _"We'll still see each other all the time," Marlene said with a smile. "And if we can't see each other I will write you all, like, all the time."_

 _"Me too," Lily said. "So what are your guys' plans now?"_

 _"I'm going to go home for a little while," Marlene said. "Then I'll probably move to London. I've decided to accept the Auror offer."_

 _"I still haven't decided if I am," Mary said with a sigh. "I want to help out in every way I can but I don't know if joining the Aurors is... for me, you know."_

 _The Ministry of Magic's Auror Office had in recent years begun to send Auror job offers to all the top graduating Hogwarts students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The Aurors needed people. They needed more support so all the exams and the three year training process had been removed in order to allow more people to join and help fight this war. This had only served to amplify the divide between Slytherin and the other three Houses but Barty Crouch, despite the being a Slytherin himself, didn't want to take any chances. The Ministry already had a big leak problem._

 _"I get it," Lily replied with a nod. "I wanted to be a teacher but I don't know. Maybe we have to do this first and then when the war we can do what we all really want to do."_

 _"Maybe..." Mary said, looking away._

 _Just then Dorcas Meadowes walked quickly over to her friends. She sat down next to Mary and quickly stuffed a piece of bacon in her mouth. Mary laughed._

 _"Good morning, Dorcas," she said. "You look like you haven't eaten in days."_

 _"I don't think she has," Marlene said with a smile. "During exams she completely forgets what normal humans need to survive."_

 _"Shut up," Dorcas said with a mouthful of food._

 _Lily laughed. "So, have you decided if you're going to join the Aurors?"_

 _"Yep," she said. "I'm not joining."_

 _"What?" Mary says, a shocked expression on her face. Dorcas was voicing what Mary wish she could. She was scared and she didn't want to become an Auror. That was never one of her career options but at the same time she felt like it was her duty. Like she would be letting her friends and family down if she didn't._

 _"I'm not joining," Dorcas said again._

 _"But I thought you wanted to be an Auror," Marlene said with a frown. "Don't you want to help in this stupid war?"_

 _"Of course I do," Dorcas said with a frown. "But I think I could do so better outside of the Auror Office. I talked to Amelia Bones, she works very closely with Alastor Moody, the Head of the Auror Office. I would have talked to him directly but he's so paranoid that he doesn't look at any letters addressed to him anymore. I wanted to ask about the bureaucracy that gets in the way of Aurors doing their job and I think that I would much rather avoid it. I'm going to join the Order of the Phoenix directly."_

 _"But Dumbledore said that he didn't want us to join the Order yet," Lily said. "He wants us to be a little older and have more experience."_

 _"I am going to go talk to him after breakfast," she replied, looking up at the teacher's table at Dumbledore. "I'm going to demand that he let me in."_

 _"Good luck," Mary said with a laugh._

 _"Have you thought about what you're going to do if he still says no?" Lily asked._

 _"Then I'll join, of course," Dorcas said with a smile. "I still want to be an Auror but I want to fight this war the best way I can first. I can become an Auror whenever I want but I want do the best thing for the time I'm living in right now."_

 _"If you do get on will you help me get on too?" Marlene asked. "I'd rather be on the Order than an Auror as well."_

 _"Of course," Dorcas said giving her a small salute. Marlene smiled._

 _"Well, I still haven't decided what I'm going to do," Lily said with a sigh._

 _"Well, didn't you want to be a professor?" Dorcas said. "We don't all have to throw spells to win the war. We still need people to teach the next generations and make sure that they understand which is the right side. We might win the fight but we won't win the war if there are still people out there who think that Muggleborns are less than Purebloods."_

 _Lily smiled. "I do want to be a teacher," she said. "I don't know. Right now Hogwarts, unless I can convince Slughorn to take me on as a teaching assistant, there isn't really a position for me."_

 _"I think he totally would," Marlene said. "You're his absolute favourite. He would love to have you working with him."_

 _"Definitely," Mary said. "He might be in love with you Lil."_

 _Lily laughed. "I don't know about that but I'm sure I could convince him to," she said. "I don't know. I think maybe I should just become an Auror until after the war. I want to do my part, you know."_

 _"That's always an option too," Dorcas said._

 _"Oh, there are the boys. Finally," Mary muttered. "They're so late."_

 _"Probably planning one last prank before the train gets here or something," said Marlene with a smile._

 _"Oh, guys, don't talk about the Auror letters anymore," Lily said with a frown. "Peter never got one and he's been really down about it."_

 _"Poor Peter," Mary said with a sigh._

 _..._

 _"Another year gone," Dumbledore said, sitting down at his desk with a sigh. He reached down into his desk drawer and pulled out a chessboard._

 _"You can't say that yet," Minerva replied, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk and watching the pieces assemble themselves on the board. "The Hogwarts Express has yet to leave."_

 _"I suppose that is a bit premature," he said with a smile, taking the first move._

 _"So, the Express leaves in about two hours," Minerva said moving a pawn, "and I will leave for the Ministry immediately after to meet with Crouch. The meeting is scheduled to only be an hour but knowing Crouch we should be done in forty five minutes tops. I'll report back as soon as I can."_

 _Dumbledore nodded, looking at the board and thinking. He moved another one of his pieces. "Also, you will be pleased to know that I've already found a Defense teacher for next year."_

 _"Excellent," she replied. "Who?"_

 _"Sarah Levy," he said. "She is an American witch who taught at Ilvermorny for twelve years before getting an opportunity to do research in South America. She wanted to get back into teaching so applied here."_

 _Minerva nodded. "Alright," she said. "It's nice not to have to run around trying to find someone to fill the position."_

 _"Yes, I -"_

 _There was a loud knock on the door. Minerva turned to look at it. "Have you scheduled a meeting over our chess game, Albus?"_

 _"I would never, Minerva," he said with a smile. He looked up at the door and called. "Come in."_

 _The door opened and in walked Dorcas Meadowes. Dumbledore gave her a smile. "Ah, Miss Meadowes. How can I help you today?"_

 _"Hello, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," Dorcas said diplomatically. She walked towards the desk. "I'm sorry to interrupt your game."_

 _"Miss Meadowes, shouldn't you be finishing up your packing?" Minerva said._

 _"Already done, Professor," she said. She looked over at Dumbledore. "I was hoping I could talk to you about the Order of the Phoenix, sir. And before you say anything, I know what you said and I understand why you would rather we get some experience before joining but I ask that you please listen to what I have to say."_

 _Minerva turned to look at Dumbledore. He had his elbows on the desk and his fingertips together. He looked deep in thought, not looking away from Dorcas. After a long pause, he nodded. "Go ahead, Miss Meadowes."_

 _Dorcas took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way over to the desk. She said, "Professor Dumbledore, I completely understand why you would want us to wait a while before we join the Order of the Phoenix. I do. I understand that you would want us to be older and more experienced before you send us into battle but I think that throughout my school years I have proven that I am not like most witches and wizards my age. I have never backed down from a fight in my life. I work hard to be the best in all my classes no matter how much time that takes reading textbooks and practicing wand movements. The only person to have ever beat me in a duel was James Potter and since then I've trained harder and I wish him luck doing so again. I have been offered a position at the Auror Office but I want to do more. I want to fight this war to the best of my abilities and I think I could do so better if I was part of an organisation that did not have any political ties one way or another. When I'm fighting this war, I don't want to have to worry about politics and bureaucracy._

 _"This war has never been what I wanted. It started faster than I could keep up with and I do not claim to know everything about it. I will be the first to admit that I do not completely understand it but I do understand one thing. That is that I know how it feels to be marginalized, to be discriminated against, to be treated as lesser because of who you are and I would never wish that on anyone else. I do not want to live in a world where people are not treated with respect no matter who they are. I want to fight so that we can live in a world where my friends, Lily Evans and Mary MacDonald, can be proud of their Muggleborn heritage. Where they will never have to worry about being murdered over their blood status. Where they will never have to worry that someone will treat them differently just because their parents can't do magic so please let me fight. Let me do everything I can to create this world."_

 _There was silence for a long time after Dorcas had stopped speaking. Minerva raised her eyebrows and looked over at Dumbledore. He was still looking very deep in thought. Minerva was really hoping that he was not actually considering this._

 _"Albus," Minerva said quietly._

 _Dumbledore put a hand up to stop her. He looked at her and they had a silent conversation where she begged him not to let her join. She's only eighteen! The look he gave her let her know that he was definitely going to let her join. She sighed and gave him a look that said fine._

 _He smiled and looked over at Dorcas. "Miss Meadowes, you have conveyed your point quite eloquently and I must admit that you have proved yourself quite capable. I would like to formally invite you to join the Order of the Phoenix."_

 _A smile spread across Dorcas's face. She quickly stuck out her hand and shook Dumbledore's. "Thank you, sir!" she said happily. "Thank you so much. You will not regret this, I promise you."_

 _Minerva rolled her eyes but Dumbledore smiled. "No, I doubt I will."_

 _"If I may, sir," Dorcas continued. "I think you'll find that I am not the only one who feels this way. I hope I'm not pushing my luck but Marlene McKinnon also feels that she would be a lot more help as a member of the Order than as an Auror."_

 _Minerva gave her a look. "Now, Miss Meadowes -"_

 _"Miss McKinnon has proven herself quite the skilled marksmen," Dumbledore said, looking over at Minerva. "Did she not hit a moving target with a stunner from almost fifty feet away."_

 _"Yes, but she's -"_

 _"Only eighteen, yes, but she's also very skilled and talented," Dorcas insisted. "She would be a great asset to the Order. If you have a marksmen you may be able to take out Death Eaters from a safer distance without risking the lives of other Order members."_

 _"She makes good points," Dumbledore said with a smile._

 _Minerva rubbed the side of her head with two fingers and sighed. "Fine, let her in," she said angrily. "Let them all in and then let in the sixth year and fifth years too. Let children fight this war, Albus."_

 _"Minerva -"_

 _"Professor McGonagall, we are no longer children," Dorcas said softly, turning so she was giving her professor her full attention. "We are adults that want to do our part to build a world we can all be proud of."_

 _Minerva didn't respond. She just crossed her arms and looked away. Dorcas turned back to Dumbledore. He nodded. "You are right, again. I will also extend the invitation to Miss McKinnon," he said. "I would prefer that you both take a few days though to be with your families and talk to them about this. I will send word to you both when we will have our next Order meeting. Please let Miss McKinnon know."_

 _"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," she said with a smile. "I will let her know. I will see you both soon. Goodbye, Professor McGonagall."_

 _Minerva gave a small nod in reply and Dorcas scurried from the room to go find Marlene. When she heard the door close behind her, Minerva picked up a pawn from the chessboard and chucked it at Dumbledore. It hit him in the chest and fell to the desk. He gave her a surprised look._

 _"She made good points."_

 _"She could have came in here and said 'I need a job, give it to me' and you would have invited her into the Order," Minerva muttered. "You want them, you just want them to ask first so you won't be responsible if something happens to them."_

 _"That is what you believe," he replied, putting a pawn back on the chessboard._

 _"It is what is true," she replied, picking up another pawn and slamming back down on the chessboard. "Make your damn move."_

* * *

 _ **Friday, April 16th 1999**_

"Okay, have a nice day at school, love," Dorcas said, kneeling down in front of Lucy. "I probably won't be here to pick you up with Remus but I'll see you at Hogwarts tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said. She gave Dorcas a hug. "Good luck on your mission, Dorcas. Stay safe."

"Always," Dorcas said with a smile, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you soon."

Lucy said goodbye to both Dorcas and Remus before running towards the school. Dorcas straightened up and looked over at Remus. "Are you sure you'll be okay without me?"

"Well, I'll probably be bored out of my mind but I'll be okay," Remus replied with a smile. "Be careful, Dorcas. Stay safe. I'll see you back at Hogwarts as well."

Dorcas smiled and gave Remus a hug. "See you soon, Remus."

With that she walked away to find somewhere to Apparate. Remus sighed and pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself. It was going to be a long day all alone while Dorcas was gone on her mission for Dumbledore. He probably should have brought a book or something. Remus walked over to a bench and sat down with his legs up. Resigned to his next few hours of boredom.

Dorcas walked back to their alleyway, glanced back and forth to make sure no one was watching, and Apparated to a Safe Apparition Zone near the Ministry of Magic building in London. She walked down the streets into a telephone booth and punched in the code. Six, two, four, four, two.

Slowly the telephone booth began to lower into the street below like an elevator. Dorcas watched the London street disappear above her. Finally the elevator stopped moving and she stepped out into a large atrium, the main lobby of the Ministry building. She walked past a large fountain in the middle of the atrium. A banner with a woman on it that read Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold hung from the ceiling. Thousands of paper airplanes flew over their heads. She made it to the elevators and took it up to level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement. This elevator went very fast and didn't just go up and down. It took turns and went horizontally too. Dorcas watched a little girl cling to her father's leg and giggle, enjoying the ride. She gave the little girl a smile.

When the elevator made it to her floor, Dorcas got out along with a few other witches and wizards and a lot of flying paper airplanes. She walked through a large set of oak doors into the Auror Office. Wooden desks lined the large hall. Every Auror got their own. Offices of the Head and Deputy Head of the Office lined the side of the hall.

"Meadowes, yer late," Moody grumbled as he threw a stack of files on a desk. "MacEwan, these are the latest Dark Mark sighting reports. Look fer any connections between these attacks. I want to be able to predict where these motherfuckers are going next."

MacEwan, a nervous, skinny wizard, nodded meekly and quickly collected the files as Moody wobbled back towards his office, motioning for Dorcas to follow. Dorcas did, sending smiles and waving at Aurors she knew as they passed.

"Bones, Diggle, and Pettigrew are already here," he said.

"I'm sorry," Dorcas said. "I hope you all haven't been waiting too long."

"Nah," Moody mumbled. He stopped at his office door and looked at her for a moment. "I know yeh've been adamant that Pettigrew would be up to a task like this bu-"

"Peter is ready," Dorcas said, cutting him off. "We can't keep him on guard duty forever. He wants to be more involved. He's ready."

"Alrigh'," he said with a little shrug. "Yeh'll be responsible for him."

"I'm confident in Peter's abilities," Dorcas said with a small smile. "It'll be okay."

Moody nodded and opened the office door. He walked inside and Dorcas walked in after him. Amelia, Diggle, and Peter were already sitting around the desk waiting for them. Dorcas walked over and took her seat quickly. Amelia stood up and handed a folder to the each of them.

"We've gotten a lot of reports of Death Eaters in the Nottingham area," she said, walking around the desk as Moody sat down. She stood behind him and opened her own folder. "There are three buildings around the outskirts of the city that we think they could be using as a hub."

"Yer mission is to check each building for Death Eaters and report back," Moody said. "As soon as yeh send the word, we'll bombard the building with Aurors."

"Do not engage before back up arrives," Amelia said sternly.

They talked about each building for a while. Dorcas would be going to the one North of Nottingham, Peter to the South, and Diggle to the West. Each were to check out their building and send a patronus back to Amelia. Amelia would send Moody and the rest of the Aurors to the building that the Death Eaters were in.

After their meeting, Dorcas, Diggle, and Peter got ready to leave. Peter quickly excused himself to go to the washroom before they left. Dorcas watched him shuffle nervously off to the bathroom and smiled a little.

"He gonna be okay?" Diggle asked with a frown. "I know he's been a bit off since Darren passed."

Dorcas sighed. "I think his confidence really took a hit after his father died."

"Not that he had very much to begin with," Diggle said.

"He'll be okay," Dorcas said. "Just give him a chance. A reconnaissance mission is a good place to start, don't you think?"

"I suppose," Diggle said.

"I'll go make sure he's okay," she said.

In the washroom Peter took a deep breath and looked at his reflection in the mirror for a second. His hands were shaking. He gripped the edge of the sink quickly, knuckles turning white. Eyes closed, he stood there for a couple minutes before finally pushing himself off the counter. He looked back at the stalls and quickly checked for any hiding wizards. There were none there.

He pulled out his wand and held it up in his shaky hands. Peter whispered, "Expecto -"

Suddenly there was a knock on the bathroom door, making him drop his wand. "Peter," Dorcas's voice came through from the other side. "We're about to head out. Are you ready to to go?"

"Ah, yeah, yeah," Peter called, scrambling to grab his wand. "Just - just give me a second."

"Alright."

Peter took another deep breath, clutched his wand and closed his eyes tightly. When he had finally calmed himself down a bit, he sent off his patronus and walked out of the bathroom.

Dorcas was waiting on the other side of the door, leaning against the wall. She gave him a warm smile and pushed herself off the wall. "Ready?"

He nodded, still a little shakily.

Dorcas smiled. "I know you're a little nervous," she said, putting a hand on his arm, "but I believe in you, Peter. You've trained really hard and you're ready. Don't listen to James or Sirius. They like to joke but you're a great wizard and I know you'll be an excellent partner."

Peter gave her a small smile. "Ah, thanks, Dorcas," he said. "We - we should probably head out.'

Dorcas nodded and walked back towards the office. Peter followed quickly behind.

Amelia was waiting for them at the door. She gave them a small smile. "Remember," she said, "just reconnaissance. If you think your building is the Death Eaters hideout, send a message and wait for back up. Do not go in alone. That means you, Dorcas."

"I can be a team player, don't worry," Dorcas said, giving her a smile.

Amelia smiled. "Be safe," she said. She looked over at Peter and Diggle too. "All of you."

"We'll be fine, Amelia," Diggle said with a laugh. "You worry too much."

Amelia gave him a look and shook her head. She said goodbye and the group headed out.

Dorcas gave Peter one last reassuring look before they all Apparated to Nottingham. When Dorcas reappeared, she found herself in the middle of a deserted street outside the city. She looked around and noticed a plump boy standing beside her. She frowned.

"Peter?" she asked, walking towards him. "You're supposed to be on the other side of the -"

Suddenly Peter pointed his wand up to the sky and a blue light shot out of it. A dome appeared above them and slowly moved until it covered them in about a thirty foot radius. The light disappeared.

"Was that an Anti-Apparition charm?" Dorcas asked, a weight dropping in her stomach. No, that can't be right. "What are you -"

"Hello, Miss Meadowes."

Dorcas turned around quickly, wand up. There standing a few feet away from her was a tall figure in long black robes. The figure had a black hood over his head. Dorcas took a deep breath and held her wand to the ready. She looked around and her eyes widened. More dark figures wearing white skull masks surrounded them, all with a wand raised towards her and Peter.

"Peter," she whispered. "It's going to be okay but I need your help."

The hooded figure laughed. "I thought the Dorcas Meadowes was supposed to be the brightest witch of her age," he said. "Have you really not figured it out by now?"

Dorcas glared at him. She saw movement from the corner of her eye and turned to look at Peter. He scurried away from her, moving towards the hooded figure. Dorcas's eyes widened. "Peter," she said quietly. It was true. "You're - you're the spy..."

Peter didn't look at her. He moved to stand behind the hooded figure.

"You did well, Peter," he said. "Go back to your post as to not arouse suspicion."

Peter jumped a little and nodded, happy to leave. He started walking away quickly so he could Apparate. Dorcas glared at his back with a look of pure hatred. "I trusted you, Peter," she said. "I vouched for you. I can't believe that you're working for him."

He didn't look back at her. He couldn't. He just kept walking until he was far enough away, raised his wand and Apparated out of sight.

"Now, the great and powerful Dorcas Meadowes..." the hooded man said menacingly. She could hear the malice in his voice and it made her stomach turn. "A shame that such great magic will go to waste."

"Nothing you say will make me join you, Voldemort, so I wouldn't waste my breath," Dorcas said, wand pointed in his direction. No point in not using his name now. He's already here and he's already prepared to try to kill her.

Voldemort chuckled. "A shame," he said, wand out now. "Well, shall we?"

The Death Eaters surrounding her all took a step forward. Dorcas looked around at them before smirking at Voldemort. "So," she said, "you're too much of a coward to fight me on your own, then?"

Voldemort laughed again. He flicked his wand and a green light flashed towards her. She blocked it and sent a flash of silver to her right. Several Death Eaters fell unconscious to the ground. This was going to be a long fight that would only get longer with more Death Eaters. Even though she had faith in her abilities, she knew Voldemort was a powerful wizard and she would be foolish to think she could take him and thirty Death Eaters on at once.

The remaining Death Eaters stepped forward again but Voldemort yelled at them to stay back. This was his fight.

Dorcas pushed some hair out of her face and gave him a little smile, clutching her wand tight. "I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"I would never ask you to, Miss Meadowes," Voldemort said with another dark chuckle. "Make your move."

...

"Hey, Remus!"

"Hey, Lucy. Have a good day?" Remus asked as Lucy ran up to him with a smile on her face. She nodded and took his hand. They started walking towards their alleyway.

"Dorcas is still not back."

"No, not yet," he said with a small smile. "She'll probably be back in time for dinner."

"What do you usually do on these kinds of missions? Beat up bad guys like the superheros?" Lucy asked.

"Oh yeah," Remus said. "We take out all the bad guys and arrest them so that they won't be able to do anything bad to anyone again."

"And then Aunty Amelia makes sure they go to jail!" Lucy said.

"Yes, she does," Remus said with a laugh.

"What's jail like?"

"Pretty bad, I would think," Remus said with a sigh. "Judges like your Aunt Amelia will look at what the person did and then give them the punishment that fits that crime. It's important that the punishment fits the crime. We don't want to do something really extreme just because someone stole a piece of bread or something."

Lucy nodded. "That makes sense."

Remus smiled. They got to the alleyway and Apparated back to Hogwarts. Remus walked with her back to Minerva's office where they found Minerva sitting at her desk looking quite frazzled. Her hair was sticking out of her bun and her eyes looked really tired and red. She gave them a small smile when they entered, asked Remus to sit and sent Lucy off to get changed. When Lucy returned, changed out of her uniform, Minerva let her go down to meet up with Tonks, Bill and Charlie.

There was silence for awhile in which Remus started to get uneasy. He felt like something was really wrong. Like bad news was on the way. He didn't speak first though. He waited for Minerva to start.

Minerva waited to make sure Lucy wasn't coming back before she finally spoke. "Remus..." she began and Remus's fears were confirmed. This was definitely not going to be good. "This is... this is going to be hard to hear," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes and starting to roll down her cheek. "Earlier today... Dorcas... she Apparated to the outskirts of Nottingham but... but they - they knew. I don't know how they knew but they knew and they were waiting for her. He was waiting for her."

Remus heard everything that Minerva was saying but for some reason he could not understand. Suddenly he could not put the words together in his mind. He had completely forgotten what words mean.

"I - I don't understand," he said stupidly. He knew he was being stupid but for the life of him he just could not understand.

"She's gone Remus," Minerva replied, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes for a second. "You-Know-Who killed her personally. She - she fought hard. Alastor was the first on the scene... he said she fought so hard, took out a lot of his followers but in the end... he was just... just too powerful."

"No."

"What?" Minerva opened her eyes and looked at Remus. He was glaring at her.

"No. No. She's not gone. No."

"Remus -"

"No!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. "No! She's not gone! She's not dead! She can't be dead! She's Dorcas! The only person who's ever beat her in a duel was James and that was years ago! Even he hasn't beaten her since then! She is the smartest, most powerful witch this world has ever seen! There is no way that he could beat her! There is no way anyone could beat her!"

"Remus," Minerva said softly.

"THERE'S NO WAY!" Remus screamed. "DORCAS IS NOT DEAD! SHE SAID SHE'D BE BACK BY DINNER! SHE'LL BE HERE!"

With that he turned on his foot and stormed out of her office. Minerva sighed and wiped her face. She looked down at the article in the Evening Prophet and more tears flooded down her face. She looked at the smiling face of Dorcas Meadowes staring back at her and shook her head. She threw open her drawer and shoved the paper inside. She just couldn't think about her right now. She needed not to think about anything right now.

...

Minerva walked out of the Great Hall after dinner with Lucy walking beside her. She saw Remus standing in the Entrance Hall, leaning on the wall and staring out a window all alone. Minerva sighed and told Lucy to head up to her office while she went to talk to Remus. Lucy frowned and asked why she couldn't come but Minerva just told her to go. Lucy sighed and ran up the steps towards Gryffindor Tower.

Minerva watched her go for a minute before walking over to Remus. He saw her walking towards her and avoided her gaze, staring off outside. "She's gone," he whispered. "She's not coming home."

"I'm so sorry, Remus," Minerva whispered, setting a hand on his arm.

"I'm never going to hold her and hug her and kiss her. I'm never going to live with her or have a family with her," he whispered. "She wanted to have children. A little girl she could teach everything she knew and she's never going to get to do that. And I'm never going to see it happen."

Minerva felt the tears fall down her cheeks. "Remus..."

"We were supposed to survive. Both of us. And then... and then we would get together. We thought... oh we were so stupid," he muttered with a shake of his head. "We thought... we thought that we needed to wait. Wait for the war to end before we could get together because if something like... something like this happened it wouldn't hurt as much but..." He looked at Minerva. "It hurts so much more."

She pulled him into a hug. "I know, Remus," she whispered. "I know it hurts."

"I should have... I should have... I should have done something!" he sobbed into her shoulder. "I should have told her how much I loved her and how I didn't want to wait anymore! I should have made the most of the time we had when I had it!"

"It's okay, Remus," Minerva said, rubbing circles on his back. She saw people look at them as they left the Great Hall, averting their gaze, scurrying past, shaking their heads. This scene all too familiar to them all. This scene all too common in times like these. Minerva sighed. "She knew how much you loved her and she loved you so much too."

"I - I... I'm starting to lose hope, Minerva," Remus whispered, pulling away and wiping his face. "What if the war never ends? If not even Dorcas can beat him... who can?"

"We can't lose hope, Remus," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. "She believed that this war would end and she would not want us to lose hope now either."

He nodded. "I think I'm going to go see Lily and James," he whispered, "Peter will be there and so will Sirius. I know he doesn't want to talk to me right now but... but I just... I need him to talk to me."

"Go," Minerva said. "He'll come around. He will."

He nodded a little and then sighed. "Oh... what about Lucy?"

Minerva sighed. "I - I don't know," she said honestly. She had no idea how she was going to have this conversation with her daughter. Lucy absolutely loved Dorcas. She admired her so much. Dorcas was her hero. This was going to completely crush her. "I don't think this is something that I can easily hide."

"No," Remus mumbled. He shook his head and smiled a little. "She probably loved her more than I did, to be completely honest."

"She loved her so much and I'm very worried that this might... that it might break her."

"She's strong. She'll get through it."

"And so will you."

Remus sighed. "I would stay and talk to her but I don't think I can right now."

"Don't worry. Go be with your friends," she said.

He nodded, said his goodbyes and walked out of the front door. Minerva sighed and watched him go for a little while before turning on her heel and walking towards her office. She quickly wiped her face and did her best to not look like she was crying before opening her door. She saw Lucy laying on the floor by the fireplace reading a book. She looked up and smiled at Minerva as she entered.

"I got a new book from the library today," she said.

Minerva smiled as she walked towards her desk and sat down. "That's nice, sweetheart. What's it about?"

"A girl who was cursed to always do as she's told," Lucy said, sitting up and turning to look at her mother.

"Wow, that's a pretty bad curse."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "It's called Ella Enchanted. It's pretty good. I like it."

"That's good," Minerva said with a small smile. She looked down at the papers on her desk and sighed. She was really not feeling up to work right now. She really just wanted to curl up in bed and cry herself out.

"Dorcas didn't pick me up from school today," Lucy said, still oblivious to what happened.

Minerva took a deep breath and tried her best to sound normal. "Yes... she had a - a mission for your Uncle Albus."

"Yeah," Lucy said, closing her book and sighing. She stood up and walked over to her mother's desk. She put her book down and rested her elbows up on the desk. "Where is she? She said that she'd be back for dinner but dinner's over and she's still not back."

Minerva looked up from her papers at her and Lucy saw the tears in her mother's eyes. Lucy frowned and furrowed her brow.

"I - I don't know, darling," Minerva said quietly. She stood up quickly, turning away so Lucy couldn't see the tears fall down her face, and walked towards the secret door. "I'm very tired, love. I'm sorry. I'm just going to head to bed."

Lucy watched her disappear into the private quarters with a frown. The door closed behind her and Lucy walked around the desk to her mother's chair. She climbed up onto the chair and looked at the papers on the desk. They were mostly just Hogwarts papers. Lucy sighed and opened a drawer instead. She dug around the drawer and found a copy of today's Evening Prophet. Lucy pulled it out and unfolded it.

 **DORCAS MEADOWES MURDERED BY HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED HIMSELF**

Lucy's eyes widened. "No..." she whispered, feeling very heavy all of a sudden. The room felt like it was getting hotter and her heart was pounding loudly in her ears. She read the article quickly. It said that Dorcas was killed while on a mission for the Order by Voldemort himself. It talked about how great a witch Dorcas was and how much she would be missed. It had a quote from Alastor Moody who told the Prophet about how hard she worked and how it would have had to be Voldemort himself to take that girl down.

Dorcas Meadowes was a brave, strong, intelligent witch who will be sorely missed. She fought wholeheartedly everyday for what she believed in. She never ran away, she never gave up and she never surrendered. She stood up, she faced her fears, and she fought with everything she had in her for people she did not know and for an idea that she believed in. The idea that one day we will live in a world where every human being is given the same rights and offered the same respect no matter who they are or who their parents are. Dorcas Meadowes will be remembered as the witch who taught us that we must keep fighting for what is right no matter who we are up against.

"No, no, no, no," Lucy whispered, throwing the newspaper back down in the drawer and slamming it closed. Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision, as she rushed towards the secret door. She used magic to pull down the torch she could not reach to open the door and ran towards her bedroom.

Lucy ran to her bedside table and threw open her drawer. She dug through it and pulled out her photo album. She put it on the bed and opened it up. She flipped through the pages until she came across the photo she was looking for. A photo of her, Dorcas, and Remus. They were smiling and laughing. Dorcas was on her knees beside Lucy and Remus was standing behind them. They were standing in front of Lucy's school. Lucy felt more tears fill her eyes. She was gone. Dorcas was gone. She wiped the tears off of her cheeks quickly with her sleeves and took the photo with her to Minerva's bedroom.

Minerva was lying on her side on the bed, tears falling down her cheeks, when the door opened. She knew that it was Lucy but she didn't trust herself to speak. Lucy walked around the bed on the side her mother was facing. She stopped in front of Minerva's face and held out the photo towards her. Minerva sighed and took it. She looked at it and saw the happy face of Dorcas Meadowes looking back at her.

"Dorcas is - is gone, isn't she?" Lucy whispered.

Minerva sighed again. She nodded a little bit. More tears falling down her cheeks. She reached over and set the photo Lucy had given her on the bedside table. She pulled the blankets up and patted the bed beside her. Lucy climbed up and laid down beside her, looking away from her. Minerva pulled the blankets back around them, wrapped her arms around Lucy and rested her head on Lucy's shoulder. They laid there like that for a long time before either one of them spoke. The silence was never ending. It was cold. It was dark. The blankets did nothing to warm them up. Lucy felt her mother's hands but they were cold. Everything felt off. Everything felt wrong.

Finally Lucy whispered, "Why is everyone dying?"

"I don't know, my darling."

"I only have one picture..."

Minerva sighed. "You don't need pictures to remember her, darling," she whispered. "You have the memories that you two created together. As long as we remember her, she will never truly be gone. She, along with everyone else who's gone, will live on in our hearts."

"I - I don't w-want them to l-live on in my heart," Lucy whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I want th-them to b-be here with me."

"I know, darling. Me too."

Lucy turned around and buried her face in Minerva's chest. Minerva ran her fingers through Lucy's hair and kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay, my love. It'll be okay."

"I want to go home. When can we go home? I want to see Daniel and Nina," she whispered, into Minerva's chest. "When can we go home?"

"I don't know, Lucy."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This chapter kills me and I hate it. Please forgive me. Dorcas is one of my all time favourite characters and if it weren't for the fact that the only canon thing we know about her is " _That's Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally..._ " (Alastor Moody, OOTP) maybe I could have kept her alive!

Even with her gone, Dorcas's memory lives on! Her loss is felt by many but I'm sure eventually we'll all be okay. Please leave a review in the great and powerful Dorcas Meadowes' honor, thank you!


	24. TLT -- 24

_**Saturday, April 24th 1999**_

"You wanted to see me, Albus?" Amelia said, walking into Dumbledore's office without knocking. He was sitting at his desk with a very large blue bound book in front of him and a tired look in his eyes. He nodded and motioned for her to come sit down. Amelia closed the door and walked over to the desk.

"You've heard, I assume," he said quietly.

Amelia sighed and nodded. Of course she had heard. Dorcas Meadowes, a girl who seemed almost untouchable, gone. "She was a wonderful young witch with her whole life left to live," she whispered. "She didn't deserve this."

"They knew."

"I know."

"It is becoming more and more important to find this spy in our ranks," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "I know that we do not want to believe that someone we trust the most is working for the other side but we would be fools to live in such a delusion."

"I know," Amelia said again, looking away from him.

"I was the one that asked Minerva to investigate you. I was the one who had my doubts, not her so if you want to be angry at someone direct your anger to the correct place," he said. She looked up but before she could say anything he put up a hand. "When I asked her to do so she told me that her spying on you was ridiculous, unnecessary and a waste of her time. She told me that you were the most loyal person that she had ever met and would never have sold out your friends and family to anyone. She stormed out of her, refusing to spy on you, and I had to convince her to humour me. I just had to be sure."

Amelia stared at him. "Why did you think that I was the spy?"

"I didn't know. I just knew that you were present at all the dinner party when Lucy let it slip that they were going up to Castletown and you had access to all the information that the Death Eaters seem to know. I just wanted to explore every possibility, even if they seemed ridiculous," he said. "It may surprise some but even I make mistakes. It just so happens that when I do, they turn out to be larger than most people's mistakes."

"Why are you telling me this now?" she asked.

"Because since you caught Minerva investigating you, she has refused to investigate anyone else," Dumbledore replied. "I care about you both very much and I hate that this is destroying a great relationship but I will admit that is not my primary goal for trying to fix it. It may sound selfish but it is very important that she continue the assignment I have assigned her. She is the only one who could successfully do so."

"You want me to forgive her so that she will continue to do what you want her to do," Amelia mumbled, furrowing her brow at Dumbledore. "You are very manipulative, Albus."

"I am trying to do what is best, Amelia," he said with a sigh. "I'm trying to win a war. If that means that, in Minerva words, I become somewhat of a dictator, so be it."

Amelia sighed. "War changes good men," she mumbled as she stood up and walked towards the door.

Dumbledore didn't respond. He watched her go with a sigh, hoping that she did what he hoped she would.

...

"Lucy, darling, can we please come in?" Minerva called through the door. She got no answer. Lucy had been doing this every day since she found out about Dorcas. She spent the whole weekend and then every evening after school in this room. Minerva had sent word to Daniel and Nina, telling them about what had happened and how Lucy was doing, and they had sent a letter back saying that this was the same thing that happened when Jay had died as well. Minerva sighed and looked over at Raj. He had taken a few days off when Minerva had informed him what happened, knowing full well that Lucy wasn't going to take it well. Minerva had brought him up to the castle so he could help but with Lucy locking herself in her room all the time there was nothing he could do either.

Raj sighed and knocked on the door again. "Sweetheart, listen, we know it hurts but we want to help," he said. "Please let us in."

Again no answer. Minerva decided to just try the doorknob and found that it was locked. There wasn't supposed to be a lock on this door. Minerva pulled out her wand and waved it over the doorknob. She tried again and still the door would not open. Minerva frowned and knocked on the door again. "Lucy open the door, please!"

"Go away!" Lucy's voice came through the door. She sounded like she had been crying and her voice was still shaking. "I don't want to talk!"

"Lucy, please. We just want to make sure you're okay," Minerva said.

"We're all worried about you," Raj said. "Charlie, Bill and Tonks have been asking about you. They want to play with you. Please come out."

"No."

"Open this door, Lucy," Minerva said, starting to get frustrated. Lucy didn't respond again. Minerva heard movement and looked at Raj, who gave her a little smile. Progress! Finally Lucy was listening.

They waited but the door still didn't open. Suddenly a piece of paper slid from underneath it by their feet. Minerva frowned and picked it up.

"My teacher wanted me to give this to you," Lucy whispered. Her voice sounded a lot closer now. She was right behind the door now.

Minerva looked down at the paper. It was written on Lucy's school's letterhead. She read the note and sighed.

 _Dear Ms. McGonagall,_

 _I am writing to inform you that your daughter is not keeping up-to-date with her homework. Homework is extremely important as it extends the amount of work that can be completed by pupils and consequently improves examination results. Lucy has always been a great student and a joy to have in my classroom. She has alway been respectful and I've never had any issues with her before now but recently she has shown a very poor attitude towards her work._

 _On top of ignoring assigned work, she no longer participates during class discussions or plays with the other children like she used to during recess. She barely speaks and I have not seen her finish her lunch in quite a long time. I've begun to get quite worried. She doesn't talk to me when I try to find out what is wrong or what's bothering her._

 _If you wish to discuss this matter with me further please do not hesitate to contact me through the school. Thank you for your support._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Mrs. Emily Geller_

Minerva sighed and handed it over to Raj so he could read it too.

"These are the same kind of letters that came home after Jay passed," he said quietly, handing her the letter back to her. "Not doing her homework, not playing with her friends, not eating her lunch."

Minerva closed her eyes for a second and rubbed her face before opening them back up and knocking again. "Sweetheart," she said softly, knowing Lucy was just right there on the other side of the door. "Please open the door. I'm not going to get mad at you. I just want to -"

She was cut off by a knock at her office door outside. They both looked back at the door to the office. "I'll stay here," Raj said. "It might be important, you should go."

Minerva sighed and nodded. She looked back at Lucy's door one last time. "Alright, there's someone at the door. I'm going to go see who it is but then I'll be back and we can talk."

She didn't expect a response and did not get one. She walked over out of her private quarters, Raj still whispering through the door behind her trying to get Lucy to come out, and over to the door of her office. Minerva opened the door and to her surprise found Amelia Bones standing in front of her. "Ah, hi."

Amelia doesn't say anything, she walked in and closed the door behind her. Minerva realized why she must be here. "Oh, you've probably heard that Lucy isn't leaving her room," she said, moving back a bit to give Amelia her space. "Maybe she'll listen to you."

"How are you?"

"M-me?" Minerva said shocked by this response.

"Yes, how are you doing? I know you loved her too," Amelia said kindly.

"I - well," Minerva stammered, still caught off guard by Amelia's sudden change of heart. "I'm - I'm fine. I've just been trying to get Lucy to - to eat more and actually... actually talk to me and... and..."

Tears had filled her eyes and even though she had tried very hard to stop them, they fell down her cheeks. Amelia suddenly walked over and hugged her tightly as she cried. "Shh... it'll be okay. Lucy will be okay."

"They - they knew! Amelia, they knew she was going to be there! _He_ knew! _He_ was waiting for her!" Minerva cried.

"I know," Amelia whispered, rubbing her back. "I know... I'm so sorry, Minerva. I should never have been so angry with you. I know you were just doing your job. I shouldn't have -"

"No, no. I'm sorry," Minerva said. "I knew that you were innocent. I should never have followed you. I should never have investigated you."

They stood there for a long time, just crying and apologizing to each other. Finally they pulled apart and wiped their tears away, realizing how ridiculous they had both been acting.

"Do you - do you remember when we first met?" Amelia said with a little laugh as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

Minerva smiled a little. "Oh yes," she said with a shake of her head. "September of '62, when you punched Abraxas Malfoy in the nose for insulting my Muggle father."

"Got myself a weekend of detentions," she said with a smile. "First week of classes as well."

"You're lucky it was Albus who caught you and not someone else. They would definitely have given you a lot harsher punishment," Minerva replied.

"And then you said," said Amelia with a shake of her head. "You said, 'I can fight my own battles, thank you.'"

"I recall you calling me something not so nice in French, not knowing I could understand," Minerva said with a smile.

"Oh, the birth of a new friendship is beautiful, isn't it?" Amelia said with a laugh. Minerva smiled and shook her head. Amelia then sighed and her smile faded away. "You have to keep investigating our friends."

Minerva's smile faded away too. She looked away and shook her head. "I don't know about that."

"Minerva, they got information that made it easier for him to kill Dorcas," Amelia said quietly. "We need to find the person who's feeding them our information. We have to stop this from happening again." Minerva didn't respond. "And I will help you."

Minerva looked back up and frowned. "How are you going to help me?"

"Well, I can help investigate the ones that work in the Ministry. I have much more access to them than you do," Amelia said. She smiled a little. "There are ways of tracking people other than following them in your animagus form."

"Alright," Minerva said. She looked back at the open door to her private quarters. "But I'm not doing anything until I'm sure that Lucy will be okay without me. I need to focus on her right now. She needs me."

Amelia nodded. "Yes, how is she? You said she's not eating?"

Minerva sighed and shook her head, turning back to look at her. "She's not eating, she's not coming out of her room." She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and showed it to her. "Her teacher says that she's not doing her homework, playing with her friends at school, or talking very much at all either. Raj took some time off so he could come stay with us and try to help her but she won't listen to him either."

Amelia sighed as she read over the letter. "Well, I guess we can try getting her out of her room first."

"She's locked the door with magic. I don't know how she's done it but I can't unlock it," Minerva said sadly as she led the way back towards Lucy's bedroom.

Raj looked over at them and gave them a little smile. "Made up, huh?"

"You were listening?" Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You left the door open and the two of you are loud. What can I say?" he said with a small smile. His smile faded away and he looked over at Amelia. "You doing alright, Bones?"

"I'm alright," she said. "How's Lucy?"

"Still won't come out," Raj said sadly. "I've tried everything."

Minerva walked closer to the door. She tried the doorknob again but it was still locked. She knocked loudly on the door. "Darling, open the door. Your Aunt Amelia is here now too."

"Lucy," Amelia called. "Will you please open the door? We want to talk to you."

Lucy didn't respond but Minerva could hear crying sounds coming through the door. She sighed again. "Okay, Lucy, open this door right now or I will blast it open."

Raj and Amelia both gave her a look but Minerva ignored them, pulling out her wand. There was a moment of silence and Minerva was about to flick her wand when she heard the door click and open slowly. Lucy poked her head out and Minerva saw her red swollen eyes and terrible dark bags. She looked thinner and her hair was frizzing upwards, coming out of her braid. Minerva sighed, kneeled down and pulled her into a hug. Lucy wrapped her arms around Minerva's neck and hugged her tightly.

Minerva picked her up and walked into the bedroom. It was dark. The lights were off and the curtains were pulled over the window. Minerva sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around Lucy, rubbing small circles on Lucy's back, while Amelia opened the curtains to let some light into the room. Lucy buried her head in the crook of her mother's neck and sobbed.

"Shh... it's alright, my love," Minerva whispered. "I know it hurts. I know you miss her. I miss her too but you can't lock yourself in your room all the time. If you're lonely, hiding away isn't going to help."

Lucy didn't say anything. She slid down into Minerva's lap and rested her head on her chest. Minerva sighed and ran her fingers through Lucy's hair, trying to tame the flyaways. She kissed the top of her head and looked over at Amelia and Raj, hoping they would have some idea as to what they could do.

"Ah, well, it's almost time for dinner," Amelia said, walking over and sitting down beside her on the bed. She put a hand on Lucy's shoulder and noticed how small she was now. "We could go down to the Hall and get some food."

Minerva nodded. "That's a good idea. You need to eat something."

Lucy shook her head. "Don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," Minerva said. "I'm staying with you."

"Maybe we should just eat here," Raj suggested. "The Great Hall will be very crowded and busy. I think that we should stay away from that for a while."

"Yes," Amelia said with a nod. "I can set up a table in your sitting room and have a House Elf bring us some food."

Minerva nodded and Amelia got up to do that, Raj decided to go after her. They left the room, leaving Lucy and Minerva alone. "When was the last time you ate anything?" Minerva asked, looking down at Lucy with concern. She had always been small but she had never been this weak before. Lucy just shrugged, still holding onto Minerva tightly. Minerva sighed and rubbed her back. "It'll be okay, my love. We'll be okay."

"Mum."

"Yes, my love," Minerva said.

"Who's He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" she whispered.

Minerva sighed. "He's a bad person," she replied. "The leader of the Death Eaters."

"He killed Dorcas," Lucy whispered.

"Yes. He's not a good man."

"But... but she's so strong and powerful," Lucy whispered, sounding very confused. "She beats up Death Eaters all the time. How could he beat her? She's so strong and she trained so hard."

"I know, darling," Minerva said, giving her a little squeeze. "She was a very powerful witch and she did train very hard but... but sometimes... sometimes other people win. Sometimes you try your very hardest but you lose anyway. Dorcas fought very hard and she took a lot of his followers down but... he was too powerful."

"But how - how can you lose when you're on - on the right side," Lucy whispered, breathing getting faster and more shaky.

"It's okay, love. It's okay," Minerva said soothingly. "We'll beat him. He may be strong but when we work together we are so much stronger."

"But - but if not even Dorcas could beat him..."

"We will beat him, darling. We'll beat him for her and for everyone else who's died fighting for what is right," Minerva said as Amelia walked back into the doorway of the room. Minerva looked up at her for a second, giving her a little nod before looking back at Lucy. She pushed Lucy's hair out of her face, pulled her chin up to face her and wiped the tears off her face. "I promise we will beat him."

Lucy sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How - how do you keep hoping when so many people have died?"

Minerva cupped Lucy's cheeks in her hands. "You know what gives me hope?"

"What?"

"You."

"Me?" Lucy asked looking confused again.

Minerva smiled and nodded. "You are my hope, darling. When I look at you, I see a kind, loving, smart, amazing little girl. I see a future filled with love and tolerance and that gives me hope. You give me hope. You give me so much hope."

"I just want everyone to be happy," she whispered, leaning her head down on her mother's chest. "I just want all the pain to stop. For everyone."

"I know, sweetheart. I know," Minerva whispered, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. "But you can't beat yourself up over it. There may be a lot of pain in the world, too much for you to be able to fix no matter how hard you try, but there is also a lot of love and happiness. So much love and happiness. You might not be able to fix all the pain but you can definitely embrace all the love."

Lucy gave a little nod into her mother's chest, making Minerva smile a little. Amelia gave her a smile and a thumbs up. Minerva rolled her eyes at her before looking back down at Lucy. "Alright, let's go eat dinner," she said, putting Lucy down on the ground, standing up and taking her hand.

Amelia pushed herself off the doorframe she had been leaning on and led the way to a small white table she had set up in the sitting room. It had four spots set with silver plates and cutlery. There were large empty dishes in the center like the food dishes in the Great Hall. Raj was already sitting there waiting for them. He gave them a small smile when they came out. Lucy let go of Minerva's hand and flopped down in her chair at the table, across from Raj. Minerva sat down with a sigh and Amelia sat down across from her.

Food appeared in the center of the table a few moments later. Minerva picked up the plate in front of Lucy and started pouring food into it for her. She set it back down before picking up her own plate and getting her own food. Lucy looked down at the chicken and rice in her plate, picked up her spoon and pushed her food around a bit.

Minerva watched her for a second before looking up at Amelia. "Oh, Amelia," she said, thinking of a way to try and improve Lucy 's mood. "You were asking Raj and I about our meetings with Peggy Carter, were you not?"

To her surprise Lucy didn't react to the mention of her hero's name. Amelia smiled and nodded, playing along. "Ah yes," she said. "Ms. Carter, the only female Howling Commando right?"

"Yes, worked directly with Captain America," Raj said with a smile.

"And then with an American agency after the war. The SRR, I believe," Minerva said.

"SSR," Lucy whispered, correcting her mother.

"Of course, sorry. The SSR," Minerva said with a smile, counting this as progress.

"What does that stand for, Lucy?" Amelia asked.

"The Strategic Scientific Reserve," Lucy replied quietly, still pushing her food around her plate. "They created Captain America."

"They created him? How?" she asked.

"Using a secret Super Soldier serum," she said, looking up at her aunt. "It was made by Dr. Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark, the founder of Stark Industries. The serum made Steve Rogers, who used to be really skinny and short and weak, into a super strong and tall superhero."

"A real life superhero," Raj said.

Lucy nodded, looking back down at her food.

"So, Ms. Carter," Amelia continued, wanting to get Lucy's attention again. "What did she do in the SSR?"

Lucy waited for Minerva or Raj to respond but when neither of them did, Lucy said, "The SSR investigated threats during the cold war. She worked as an agent for them. They didn't treat her very good at first because she was a girl but she proved them wrong."

"She can do one hundred and seven push ups, you know?" Minerva said.

"Really?" Amelia said, sounding very impressed.

"Yes, I recall," Raj said with a smile. "One armed push ups, not regular ones, right?"

"Yes, one hundred and seven one armed push up," she said with a nod.

Lucy looked up at him. "How do you know?"

"Her nephew, Tony Stark, told me when I met him at the Start Expo before you were born," she said with a smile.

"Tony told me as well," Raj said with a little laugh. "When he came to visit London with his father a long time ago."

"It seems Mr. Stark really likes bragging about his aunt," Amelia said with a smile.

"Tony Stark is really smart," Lucy said quietly. "He graduated when he was ten and then got into MIT."

"Yes, I believe he graduated from his third degree at MIT last year," Raj said. "Last time he came up here he said that that he may go back and do a PHD as well."

"Wow," Amelia said. "How old is he again?"

"Sixteen or seventeen now, I believe," Raj said.

"Yes, he told me all about his Aunt Peggy when we met," Minerva said with a smile, thinking back to the small nine year old boy excitedly going on and on about how great his aunt was.

"I wish I could meet her," Lucy said with a small smile. Minerva smiled too. She hadn't seen Lucy smile in a really long time. "I told Dor-" Her smile faded away as quickly as it had appeared and she looked back down at her food.

Minerva sighed and she looked at Raj and Amelia.

"Ah, hey," Raj said, "she actually comes up here for meetings and stuff like that a lot. I can make some calls, see what I can do."

Lucy looked up quickly with wide eyes. "You - you could get her to come here?"

"Well, not here," Raj said with a laugh. "I don't think she'll come to Hogwarts but to the Collins Enterprises building. I'm sure your mum wouldn't mind bringing you down for a couple hours so you could talk to her."

"Really!" Lucy exclaimed. She looked over at her mother excitedly. "Could we, Mum? Could we please?"

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile. Lucy was finally starting to sound like her old self. She looked over at Raj and smiled. "Thank you, Raj."

"Of course," he said with a smile.

"Lucy wrote an essay on Ms. Carter, you know," Minerva said, looking back at Amelia. "One of only three children that didn't write their hero essay on one of their parents."

"Wow," Amelia said. She gave Minerva a small reassuring smile before looking at Lucy. "So you must be an expert on her then."

Lucy smiled a little. "I don't think I'm an expert," she said. "I just did a lot of research for my essay. I told everyone about her. Tonks likes her too now."

"Lucy did a lot of research," Raj said. "It was insane. Her essay was eighteen pages long. It was wonderfully written though. I very much enjoyed reading it."

"I would love to read it as well," Amelia said. "If you'd let me."

"Okay," Lucy said. "Researching was actually kind of hard."

"I'll bet," Amelia said with a smile.

"They didn't have a lot of books about her in my school library and I couldn't go to the public library to look up stuff and there was only one book with her in it here at Hogwarts," Lucy said.

"How did you research then?" Amelia asked.

"Remus found some books when he went to visit his dad in Scotland," Lucy said. "And Dor-"

Again she stopped. Lucy looked down quickly. Why did she keep doing that to herself? She kept forgetting and then trying to talk about her. It hurt too much to even say her name. She needed to stop but she didn't know how.

Minerva, Raj, and Amelia tried to get Lucy to hold a conversation again but this time there was nothing they could say to bring her back again. She kept staring down at her plate, refusing to speak. Minerva watched her push the food around her plate, making no move to actually eat anything.

"Darling, you have to eat something," Minerva said softly, putting a hand down on Lucy's arm. It was thinner than she remembered. Lucy sighed but made no move to scoop food into her mouth. "Would you like something else instead?"

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled.

"Well you have to eat something," Minerva said with a frown.

Lucy stared at her for a second before turning back to her food. She ate a couple bites very slowly and then pushed the plate away from her, indicating that she was done. She folded her arms up on the table and rests her head on them. Minerva sighed and put a hand on her back. She wished she knew what she could do to make Lucy feel better right now. She looked up at Amelia and Raj, who both gave her a reassuring look.

"Alright, well," Amelia said, trying to think of something. "Maybe we could do something else? Um..." what did little girls like to do? Amelia didn't know. She didn't have kids. She looked at Raj.

"Ah, we could play a game, maybe?" Raj suggested.

Amelia looked at Minerva who nodded. "Yes, what would you like to do, Lucy?"

Lucy shrugged.

Minerva sighed and stood up. Lucy looked up quickly when she heard Minerva's chair squeak. She stood up quickly and hugged her mother's legs as she walked towards the couch. Minerva put an arm around her and rubbed her arm soothingly. They sat down on the couch and Lucy laid down with her head on Minerva's lap. Minerva draped a throw blanket over Lucy. Raj got up and walked over as well, sitting down in a chair. Amelia vanished everything on the table before walking over too.

Amelia had a House Elf bring some tea for her, Raj, and Minerva and some hot chocolate for Lucy. Minerva was happy to see Lucy actually drink the hot chocolate. She had sat up properly and was leaning into her mother's side. Amelia told her stories that her mother used to tell her when she was young and Lucy even smiled a little bit.

Eventually it was time for Lucy to go to bed and Amelia to say goodbye. She gave Lucy a tight hug and told her that everything would be alright and that she would be back tomorrow to see her again. She also hugged Minerva and Raj before heading out. Minerva took Lucy to her bedroom and helped her change into her pajamas. When she got up to head back to her own room Lucy grabbed her hand quickly.

"Can - can I stay with you?" Lucy asked quietly.

Minerva gave her a small smile and nodded. "Of course."

Lucy grabbed her stuffed tabby cat, hopped off her bed and walked with Minerva back to her bedroom. Minerva told Raj, who was getting ready to sleep on the couch, that he could take Lucy's bed if he'd like since Lucy would be staying with her. Raj thanked her, grabbed his things and moved into Lucy's room as Minerva and Lucy went into Minerva's.

Lucy got into bed while Minerva left to change and get ready for bed. When Minerva came back she got into bed beside her. Lucy curled up close to her mother.

"I'm glad you and Aunty Amelia aren't fighting anymore," she whispered.

"Me too," Minerva said with a small smile, hugging Lucy close and brushing her fingers through Lucy's hair soothingly.

Lucy rested her forehead on Minerva's chest. She felt a little bit better now that she wasn't laying in a dark room all alone. She felt safer in her mother's arms but she still felt a pain in her chest that she could not explain. It hurt to breath sometimes. She felt the hole in her chest that she had already worked so hard to fill after her father died coming back. She had thought that she had filled it but after Dorcas, she realized that it was a part of her now. She had to live with a hole in her chest and pretend to be perfectly okay. She didn't know if she could do that. How can someone live with a hole in their chest? How do you keep going when so many people die? How could she be her mother's hope when she didn't feel any hope herself?

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

*sigh* I miss Dorcas. At least Amelia and Minerva have made up though. Thank you for reading and please leave a review.

(Also, just a side note, the other day I rediscovered one of my favourite songs! It's called Santa Monica Dream by Angus and Julia Stone. Check it out if you like acoustic indie stuff. I like getting music recommendations so maybe someone will appreciate this one.)


	25. TLT -- 25

_**Thursday, April 29th 1999**_

Remus saw the little girl sitting in the corner of the room all alone while her friends ran around and played in front of her. She was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, and chin resting on her knee. Remus sighed and walked over. "Hey, Lucy."

She didn't look at him, just kept staring off in the distance. She didn't speak or move. Remus had noticed this when he dropped her off at school. No matter how hard he tried she didn't take to any conversation he tried to start. During recess, he noticed that she just sat around while all the other children played. Anne would always sit with her, putting her arm around her and trying to get her to do something but Lucy never wanted to do anything. Minerva had said that she still hadn't started doing her homework again and the frustrated teacher had sent another note home to complain to her about it. She said that Lucy still wasn't speaking or eating or doing very much at all either.

"Can I sit down?"

She nodded a little.

He sat down with a sigh. He leaned his back against the wall and put his knees up, resting his arms on them. "It's been a while, you know, but things still feel weird. Like they're not real," he said quietly, watching the children run around. "Like this is all a dream and I will wake up to find her still here waiting for me to get my lazy butt out of bed so we can pick you up and take you to school."

"Sometimes I forget she's gone," Lucy whispered.

"It's the same way I felt when Mum died," he said.

"The same way I felt when Daddy died," she said. She looked over at Remus, tears rolling down her face. "Everyone I love dies."

He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "No. It's not like that, Lucy."

She didn't respond. He took a deep breath and looked around. The happy children running around didn't help make him or Lucy feel any better. They needed to go somewhere else. He stood up. "Come on," he said, holding out a hand for her. "I'm going to take you to her favourite place in Hogwarts."

She looked up at him for a moment before nodding and getting up. She took his hand and he led her out of the classroom. They walked up so many stairs and down different hallways until finally they made it up to a tall tower. It was quite cold up here in the dark, wintery fog. Remus took off his coat and put it around Lucy. She put her arms through the arms of the coat and pulled it close around her. It hung on her small frame and she pulled the sleeves up high so her hands could poke out the ends.

"This is the Astronomy Tower," Remus said as he led them to the edge. He leaned down and picked her up into his arms so she could see over the railing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked out onto the grounds. She could see the lights from Hogsmeade dancing in the dark fog and the forest, giving off a dark, eerie glow. She could see Hagrid doing some work in front of his Hut and the rolling waves on the Black Lake. "It's the tallest tower at Hogwarts," Remus continued. "It's usually out-of-bounds except for during classes but... I think we can make an exception. I mean, Dorcas always did. She was never really one for rules."

"I can see why she liked it up here," Lucy whispered. "The grounds look really pretty."

"You can see the whole grounds from up here," Remus said with a little smile. "And the cold air up here is good for clearing your head."

"Everything looks prettier from further away," Lucy said quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. "Daddy used to say, 'Door ke dhol suhavane lagte hain'. It means 'the drums sound better at a distance'."

"It's true," he said with a sigh. "We spent a lot of nights up here, just sitting around, talking, pretending we knew what was going on outside of these castle walls."

"You and Dorcas?"

"Me and Dorcas and James and Sirius and Peter and Lily and Marlene and Mary. All of us friends," Remus whispered, thinking about all of them sitting together, drinking, laughing, telling jokes and doing things that they definitely shouldn't be doing. Three out of the eight of them were gone now. Gone and never coming back. He felt the tears sting his eyes. He would never hear Dorcas's voice, her laugh, her stupid jokes. He would never see her, feel her, kiss her, ever again. Remus felt the tears fall down his face and quickly wiped them away. Now wasn't the time. He had to be strong. Strong like her.

"Remus?" Lucy asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"How do you deal with this? So many people have died but I still don't know how to deal with it," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. "My dad, Dorcas, Marlene, Aunty Amelia's brother. Everyone's dying or being split up and leaving me all alone."

"They're not leaving you," Remus said, reaching up and wiping the tears from her cheek. "Listen, Lucy, sometimes... sometimes people die way earlier than they're supposed to and it's not fair and it hurts and it might hurt for a long time but it happens. And when it happens we remember the ones we lost and we pick up the pieces of our heart and we keep moving forward. We can't let this stop us from living our lives. That's not what they would have wanted. They would want us to keep our heads up and live our lives in a way that would make them proud."

"I just miss them so much."

"I know," he said. "I know."

"Dorcas liked you."

"She liked you too."

"No, like like-like. Like in the way that Nina likes Daniel and Lily likes James," Lucy said. "She liked you like that. She told me."

Remus smiled a little. "I liked her like that too."

"I wish she was here so that you guys could live together."

"Me too," Remus said with a sigh. "It'll be okay, Lucy. We'll get through this. We'll find a way to be okay again."

She didn't respond. She just curled up closer to him. He hugged her close and gave her a little squeeze.

"You should start doing your homework again," he said. "Dorcas always valued education and knowledge. Sometimes I wondered how she wasn't put in Ravenclaw. She wouldn't be very happy to find out that you were neglecting your school work because of her."

Lucy nodded into his shoulder.

He sighed and pulled out his wand. He flicked it and suddenly the dark night was filled with thousands of gold glowflies. They floated around them on the tower and out into the sky. Lucy looked up and watched them go. They spun around them and one landed on Lucy's arm. She stared at it before it flew away to join its friends. Lucy rested the side of her head on the side of Remus's and watched them float through the night sky towards the forest. They disappeared amongst the trees and the Astronomy Tower was plunged into darkness again.

"She always said that fireflies where the real stars."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday, May 11th 1999**_

"How was your day, sweetheart?" Minerva asked as they walked away from the children's classroom. Minerva had just picked Lucy up after some meetings at the Ministry. Lucy gave a little shrug. Minerva sighed. Lucy was still not talking very much.

They made it to Minerva's office and Lucy let go of her mother's hand. She walked around the desk and sat down in front of it. Minerva took her seat and looked down at the work that she had left out. Lucy pulled out her own homework to do. Since Remus talked to her, she had started doing her homework again. He was right that Dorcas would have been upset if she knew that Lucy had stopped doing her homework because of her. Lucy stared down at the pages of math problems and got to work. She just needed to get these done and then she could go to her room.

Minerva watched her for a second. Things had gotten a little better the last few days. Lucy had gotten better but it took a lot out of Minerva to deal with her. She had so much on her plate right now with her regular Hogwarts work, her Order work, and her mother work. She barely had time to do all the things she needed to do as well as look after Lucy. Minerva loved Lucy. Of course she did. Lucy was an amazing little girl and Minerva loved spending time with her but Lucy was definitely a handful. She needed a lot more attention than most children her age right now. Minerva wanted to give Lucy everything she needed but she was having a lot of trouble with time lately.

They worked in silence for a long time before Lucy finished her homework, closed her book and leaned back in her chair. She watched her mother work for a few minutes before Minerva looked up and gave her a little smile. "All done?"

Lucy nodded.

Minerva put down her quill. "It's almost time for dinner," she said. "Would you like to eat here or go down to the Great Hall?"

"Here," Lucy whispered. She and Minerva had been taking most of their meals up in her sitting room instead of the Great Hall. Lucy just couldn't do people right now. She couldn't watch them run around, laugh, talk, be happy. She wanted them all to stop. She wanted them all to realize how horrible everything was and be sad like she was. She wanted them to feel the way she felt. How dare they act like everything was fine. How dare they pretend that there wasn't a war going on that was killing so many. How dare they live their lives as if it didn't matter. It mattered. She felt it. She felt all of it. The pain in her chest still hadn't gone away. She still felt the hole and even though she was trying, it wouldn't go away.

"Alright," Minerva said. "Why don't you go put away your things and get washed up for dinner? I'll be right in."

Lucy nodded again and stood up. When she disappeared inside the secret door, Minerva leaned back in her chair, took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. Maybe she should just take dinner at her desk. She had so much work to do still.

Minerva sat there for a long time before finally she sighed, shook her head, and stood up. She walked into the sitting room and saw Lucy sitting at the table that Amelia had put up a few weeks ago. Minerva walked over, sat down and the food appeared in front of them. Like always, Minerva poured food into Lucy's plate, set it down in front of her and Lucy pushed it around with her spoon. Minerva poured her own food and ate for a while before looking up at her daughter.

"Lucy, please eat something," Minerva said.

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled, not looking up from her plate.

"Lucy. You have to eat," Minerva said, feeling her blood pressure already increasing. "It's not healthy. You have lost so much weight and you are tired all the time. Please eat. It will help you feel better."

"No it won't," Lucy mumbled. "Nothing will."

"If you think like that then nothing will," Minerva replied with a frown. "Things get better, Lucy, if you let them. If you make an effort."

Lucy stopped pushing her food around and threw down her spoon. She glared up at her mother. How could she say that? Didn't she see how hard she was trying? "I am making an effort!" she exclaimed, tears filling her eyes. "I'm trying so hard! I just... I just..." she couldn't find the words. Tears fell down her down her cheek.

"Darling," Minerva said softly.

Lucy stood up quickly and ran to her bedroom, slamming her door behind her. Minerva took a deep breath, trying not to get angry. She felt horrible for feeling this way towards her daughter. She hated herself for getting angry with Lucy when all she needed was someone to listen but she didn't know how to stop herself. She stood up and walked towards her office. Minerva needed to take some time before she tried talking to Lucy again.

She sat down at her desk and looked down at the work on top of it. Suddenly she couldn't do it. She couldn't pick her quill back up. She felt tears fill her eyes for reasons she could not say and quickly rubbed them away. Standing up again suddenly, she pushed the papers off her desk and watched them fly onto the office floor. More tears fill her eyes and fell down her cheek.

Everything was just too much. Minerva walked back into her private quarters and to her bedroom. She walked up to her bay window and sat down, opening the window up and feeling the cool night air hit her face. She didn't know what to do. She just wanted it to get easier. She wanted Lucy to get better and she wanted the war to end. She wanted to go back to Rochester, kiss Jay and tell him about her day while the children played in the living room. How did it get like this? How did it get this bad? How was it supposed to get better?

Lucy was sitting at her own bay window, window open and cold air filling the room. She breathed it in and her head started to decloud a little bit. It felt less heavy. Her chest still hurt and her fingers were freezing but the cold air was refreshing. She was gripping the window sill so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She looked down and saw how high up they were in the tower. Then she looked up at the big white moon and the shiny, bright stars up in the sky. Lucy took a deep breath of the frigid air.

"Hey, Daddy," she whispered into the night. "I don't think that you can hear me but I like to pretend that you can."

Minerva heard the small voice. She leaned out her window and saw Lucy's window a little ways away from her. She hadn't realized that their windows were so close together. She didn't say anything, just listened.

"Things are pretty bad right now," Lucy whispered, tears in her eyes. "There's a war going on. I've read about war in my books and it feels like this war is the same as those ones. Mum came back, just like you said she would. I'm glad she did and I'm sorry I never believed you when you tried to tell me that she would. She's like me. She can do magic too and I got to meet a lot of people who could do magic. You were right, I wasn't a freak."

Minerva smiled a little. This was probably the most she had heard Lucy's voice in a really long time.

"We had to leave Rochester because it wasn't safe anymore. We haven't gone back in a really long time. I miss it so much. I miss my room and being able to have Anne over and seeing Daniel and Nina and Uncle Raj every day. I miss you so much."

Minerva sighed. There was silence for a long time in which Lucy breathed shakily, trying to regain control of herself. When she finally did she spoke again.

"Hogwarts is nice though. Uncle Raj says that it's like I'm a real princess living in a castle. He's just saying that to make me feel better though," she mumbled. "It's alright most of the time. I met some nice people. My friends Bill and Charlie are brothers and they have four other brothers and another brother or sister on the way. Mrs. Weasley says she's hoping for a baby girl this time but that's seven kids! So many kids."

Minerva laughed quietly to herself. She agreed wholeheartedly. She loved all of the Weasley children but seven kids are a lot.

"I have another friend named Tonks. Well, her name is Nymphadora but she doesn't like that name so she wants us to call her Tonks. Her mum calls her Dora which I think is pretty funny but she doesn't like that very much either. She can change what she looks like without using a wand. Kind of like how Mum can change into a cat but she can change into anything she wants. It's call being a Metamorphmagus not an Animagus like Mum. You have to be born a Metamorphmagus but you can become an Animagus. I think I want to become an Animagus like Mum when I'm older.

"I met other people too. I met some of Mum's old students and some of her friends. Aunty Amelia came back too and we got to go see Nani and the others over Christmas. Last Christmas wasn't very fun though. I met James and Lily. They're really nice. I met Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. They're all really nice too. Remus drops me off and picks me up from school. I also met a girl named Marlene but she's not... alive anymore. And a girl named Dorcas who's also... who's also not alive anymore. She died, Daddy, they killed her. The bad guys. She was so strong and everyone talked about how powerful she was but they still... they still killed her. I miss her so much.

"Remus said that when stuff like this happens you have to pick up the pieces of your heart and keep moving forward but it feels like I've lost some of my pieces. It's like I'm trying to put myself back together but I'm missing too many pieces for it to fit properly. How do you live without a whole heart? It hurts so much. I have a headache all the time and I can't sleep no matter how hard I try. I'm never hungry and everytime I eat something I feel like I'm going to throw up. My chest hurts and it's hard to breath sometimes. I want to tell Mum but she's busy all the time and really stressed out. She has a lot on her mind with the war and everything and I don't want her to worry but I don't know what to do. I know she's getting frustrated with me and she always gets sad when she looks at me. I'm trying so hard but it's not getting better... I'm trying so hard. I know that she doesn't think I am but I am. It's just so hard and I don't know what to do. I wish you were here. You always knew what to do. You always knew how to make me feel better."

Minerva sighed and stood up. She closed her window and walked out of her bedroom. She hated that Lucy didn't want to tell her what was wrong because she didn't want her to get worried. Minerva had a lot on her plate, it was true, but Lucy would always be her top priority. She wanted Lucy to feel safe telling her everything. Minerva made it to Lucy's room and knocked on the door. "Lucy, darling, can I come in?"

"Yes."

Minerva opened the door and walked inside. Lucy was still sitting at the bay window, looking out into the night. The room was freezing cold and Minerva could see the goosebumps on Lucy's arms. Minerva closed the door behind her and walked towards her daughter. She sat down beside her and looked out onto the Hogwarts grounds.

"I know how you feel, my darling," she whispered. "And what you feel is okay. It's okay to feel hurt, to feel sad. All your feelings are valid and I am so sorry for implying that you're not making an effort. I know you're trying really hard."

Lucy looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "I am," she whispered. "So hard."

"Oh, darling, I know," Minerva said, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close. "I know it hurts and I know it's hard and if you need anything or just need someone to talk to you can always talk to me. I know that I've been really busy lately and that I have to go out all the time for my Order assignment but I don't want you to worry about that. You are always my number one priority. I care more about you than anything else. If you need something don't worry about how much work I might have to do. If you need me, I'll be here. I promise."

Lucy buried her face into her mother's chest and held her tightly. She told her everything. How she felt, how she was trying, what she needed. She told her mother about the constant headaches and the no sleeping and how she needed someone to stay with her. Minerva told her that she could stay with her at night if it helped her sleep better. She told Lucy that she didn't have to figure it out all alone. That she didn't have to do this all by herself. Minerva would help her. Remus, Daniel, Nina, Raj, Amelia, and Dumbledore would help her. They would all help her.

Lucy felt a little bit better after that. She felt like a huge weight was taken off her shoulder. She stayed close to her mother and felt a little bit safer.

* * *

 _ **Saturday, May 15th 1999**_

 _Click._

A baby Harry made a face as the flash of Lucy's camera hit his face. The photo developed out of the front of the camera and Lucy looked at it with a smile. She turned it over and held it out so James and Lily could see.

"Augh, I don't like this one," James said, making a face. "I look weird."

"I think you look nice," Lily said with a small smile. "At least this one, Harry actually looks happy."

"Lucy, maybe you should take another."

"She's already taken five!"

"I think this one is the best," Lucy said with a little laugh as she looked down at the photograph. Her voice was quieter than it used to be.

Lucy sat down on the floor of her mother's office and opened up her photo album so she could put the moving photo inside. She had been slowly filling the photo album with more and more photos since Dorcas died. She wanted as many photographs of everyone as possible, just in case. She had photos of her with the Weasleys and the Tonkses. Photos with Remus, Sirius, James, Lily, Minerva, Aunt Amelia, Uncle Raj, Uncle Albus, Daniel, Nina, and anybody else she could force to sit down and smile for one. She had also cut out the photograph of Dorcas from the paper so that she could have another one of her and gotten a photo of Marlene from Sirius. She wanted to remember everyone as they were and wanted physical things to remember them by. She didn't want them to live on in her heart like her mother had said. She wanted something physical that she could hold on to.

"Can I see your book?" Lily asked.

Lucy nodded and held it out for her to take. Lily took it and patted the floor for her to come sit down beside her. Lucy got up and moved. Lily opened the album and saw the first picture. It was a photograph of Lucy, Remus and Dorcas. Lily smiled and asked Lucy to tell her all about the photos she had taken. Lucy smiled and pointed to picture after picture, telling her the story behind them. James looked over Lily's shoulder so he could see too.

...

"Alastor and Elphias have all been cleared," Minerva said as she flopped into the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Wow, two people cleared and I didn't even know that you were investigating again," he said with raised eyebrows.

"I was going to tell you but I figured it would be more relevant when I had something to report," she replied inconsequentially. "It's going faster now since Amelia is now helping."

"Ah, I see."

"I hope that's alright."

"Of course," he said with a smile. "I am very glad that the two of you are back on good terms once again."

"Me too," she said with a smile.

"So, how's Lucy doing?" Dumbledore asked.

"She's finally getting better," Minerva replied, sounding very tired all of a sudden. "Remus spoke with her a little last week and since then she's started doing her homework again. Dance has also helped her a lot. She has that to just forget about everything else for a while."

"That's good," Dumbledore said.

"Yes," Minerva said with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. "She's finally eating more. Not much but more. She's still got a lot of weight to gain back but she's smiling a little more, laughing even, talking more. Though... it's not really the same. Her voice is a lot quieter than usual and she still doesn't talk that much. Not like the crazy ranting she used too. Yesterday I talked to her about Wonder Woman and she didn't get excited and crazy like she used to. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss that."

Dumbledore smiled a little. "I'm sure she'll get back to that soon enough."

"This is just like what happened after Jay died. She was finally better and then this happened and... and..."

"It'll be okay, Minerva."

"Daniel and Nina will be back next week," Minerva said. "I'm sure once they get here they'll be able to help her more as well."

He nodded. "Well, how are you doing?"

"Me? I'm fine," Minerva muttered.

"You've been so busy lately," Dumbledore replied. "With Hogwarts business, Order business, and helping Lucy, you've had no time to deal with your own emotions."

"I've been fine," Minerva said, crossing her arms. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Min-"

"I'm fine, Albus, really."

"Alright," he said.

"Anyways," Minerva said. "With those three cleared, who's next?"

Dumbledore gave a little shrug. "Sturgis, Dung or Dedalus, I suppose. It's up to you."

"Oh my god, Fletcher. I completely forgot about him. He would do anything to save his own skin. Why didn't we investigate him first?" Minerva muttered. "I'll be doing him next then."

Dumbledore nodded. He sighed and leaned down to pull out his chessboard from one of the desk drawers. "Chess, Minerva?"

She sighed and closed her eyes but nodded. She wasn't really in the mood for chess but she knew the moment that she left this room she would have to go back to all the work that she had been putting off. She knew she would have to get it done eventually and the more she put it off the harder it would become but she just needed some time to regroup and think of something other than the war for a little while.

Dumbledore set the board in between them and the pieces set themselves in their correct order. She let him make the first move and the two of them played for a little while. The game worked to distract Minerva for a while until finally she won and had to go back to her office where all those stacks of papers waited for her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

It's been a while but I'm back! I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review letting me know what you think!

Also, if you want more from me, I wrote a short one-shot about Minerva and Amelia meeting during their first year of Hogwarts. I thought it would be a fun little story. They talked about it a little in the last chapter. If you want to read it, it's called In Which Minerva Meets A Friend. Please check it out and leave a review, thank you!


	26. TLT -- 26

_**Saturday, May 22nd 1999**_

Today was the day. Minerva had gotten a letter from Raj yesterday telling her that the day had finally arrived. She got Lucy out of bed, got her dressed and ready to leave. Lucy was still confused as to what was actually happening. Her mother wouldn't tell her where they were going or what they were doing. She just marched Lucy out of her office and out of the castle. They walked through the grounds and out the gate before Apparating.

At first Lucy didn't know where they had ended up, it just looked like an empty car park, but as they walked down towards an elevator Lucy recognized the building. They were in the Collins Enterprises underground car park. Minerva pulled out a key to get the elevator going and let Lucy press the button for the top floor.

The elevator climbed up the building. It dinged and the doors opened when it finally reached the top. Lucy realized that this was actually her first time back at Collins Enterprises since her father's death. She quickly grabbed her mother's hand, holding it tightly as the walked out of the elevator and towards her father's old office.

They made it to his office and found Raj standing there waiting for them beside a woman with shoulder length grey curls and wearing a smart grey suit. Raj had a very stupid smile on his face and greeted them happily as they approached.

Upon seeing the woman, Lucy gasped. She had known that her uncle had claimed he would try to get them a meeting but she never thought it would actually happen.

"Minerva, it's nice to see you again," Peggy Carter said with a smile, sticking out her hand to shake hers when they were close enough. "It's been a long time."

"Nice to see you again as well, Peggy," Minerva said, shaking her outstretched hand. "This is my daughter, Lucy."

Peggy kneeled down in front of Lucy and smiled, sticking out her hand towards her as well. "Hello, Miss Collins," she said as Lucy shook her hand still gaping at her. "My name is Peggy Carter. Your uncle here has told me all about you. It's very nice to finally meet you."

"Y-you're - you're Peggy Carter..." was all Lucy could manage to say. She didn't move, looking frozen in place.

"Yes," Peggy said with a smile.

"You're - I - oh my god!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement. She finally unfroze and took Peggy's hands. She was basically jumping with excitement. "Oh my god! You're - You're Peggy Carter! I absolutely love you! You are so cool! I read all about you in school and wrote an essay about you a couple months ago!"

"Well, thank you Miss Collins -"

"Please, call me Lucy."

"Alright, and you can just call me Peggy," Peggy said with a laugh. "I'm very flattered. I wasn't aware that they were teaching about me in schools."

"Well, they talked about you a little bit when we did World War II in history but I did most of the reading on you on my own," Lucy said, feeling the blood rush into her cheeks. "I read all about your work training soldiers during the war and your adventures with Steve Rogers and then your work in the SSR. It's so cool! I hope I'm as strong as you when I'm older. You're like real life Wonder Woman!"

"Wow, you've read a lot about me. I'm glad I made you proud, Lucy," she said with a bright smile. "So, Raj tells me that you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes," Raj said. He walked towards Jay's office for and opened it. "You two can go talk in here. Minerva and I will be waiting out here."

"Wonderful," Peggy said, straightening up and holding her hand out for Lucy. Lucy took it quickly, a huge genuine smile on her face, and followed Peggy into the office.

When the door closed behind them, Raj looked over at Minerva with a small smile. "So, who's the best uncle in the world?"

"That was a nice surprise for her, Raj," Minerva said with a smile. "Thank you. I think it will definitely help."

"Yes, I hope so," he said. He walked over to the desk in front of Jay's office and pulled out the chair. He motioned for Minerva to sit and then pulled another one over from a little ways away for himself. "I'm an amazing godparent. Amelia Bones has nothing on me."

"This isn't about helping Lucy at all, is it?" Minerva said. "This is about out doing Amelia as a godparent."

"No, of course not, this first and foremost about helping Lucy," Raj said with a smile. "Out doing Amelia is just an added bonus."

Minerva shook her head though she smiled.

"Lucy's already gotten a whole lot better. I'm hoping this is what pushes her right back to how she was before all this," he said.

Minerva nodded. "I hope so too," she said. She looked at the door for a second. "Well, I predict that the war and the Wizarding World will not remain secret for very long. I probably should have warned her not to tell Ms. Carter about it."

Raj shrugged. "After Jay died, I took over a lot of his responsibilities," he said. "Part of that was with Stark and Carter. They work for an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D.. Basically an intelligence agency."

"Intelligence?" Minerva said with a raised eyebrow. "Are you telling me my husband was a spy?"

"No," Raj said with a laugh. "More of a consultant for a spy firm. I've learned a lot of things about Jay since he passed actually. I was very surprised."

"Wow," Minerva said.

"Anyways," Raj said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. already knows about the Wizarding World."

Minerva looked back at him in shock. "They do?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said. "They have agents who are wizards and witches. They have files on everybody. Peggy knew that you were a witch and that you worked at Hogwarts before she met you."

"I don't know how I feel about that."

"It's top level clearance. Not a lot of people in S.H.I.E.L.D. know about it. Just the top agents, Peggy and Howard Stark," he said. "They were surprised that I knew."

"Hmm," Minerva mumbled.

Raj smiled. "It's okay, your information is safe," he said as he reached down and opened the bottom drawer of Maria's desk. He pulled out a bottle of wine. "Jay's secret stash. Maria would confiscate it every so often."

"Upon my request actually," Minerva said with a smile.

"Really? Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we indulged a little bit while we wait," Raj said with a laugh. He pulled out a bottle of wine and waved it at her. Minerva smiled and took it from him.

"I'm sure she wouldn't," Minerva said, pulling out her wand and conjuring up some glasses. She poured the wine into them and held out his glass towards him.

"Thank you," he said, accepting the glass from her.

...

Peggy closed the door behind them and Lucy looked around the room. It looked exactly the same as the last time she had been here. Nobody had used the office since Jay passed, Raj had made sure of that.

"I haven't been in here in a really long time," Lucy whispered.

Peggy looked at her and gave her a little smile."I'm sure that if you're uncomfortable your uncle wouldn't mind finding us a different room to use."

"That's okay," Lucy said, leading the way over to the couch. Peggy followed her. She sat down and smiled down at her.

"You know, your father told me all about you," she said. "He was very proud of you."

"Really?" Lucy asked with a little smile.

Peggy nodded. "I know all about you thanks to him. He absolutely loved bragging about you," she said. "He told me about your photographic memory. Your very high IQ."

"Wow," Lucy said, cheeks going a little red.

"You're in year eight now, right?"

Lucy nodded. "You know all about me like I know all about you!"

"Yes," Peggy said with a laugh. Suddenly her smile faded away and she sighed. She took one of Lucy's hands and said, "so, your uncle told me that you were having a little bit of a hard time right now."

Lucy sighed and looked down. "My friend died," she said quietly. "Well, actually a lot of my friends have died."

Peggy sighed too. "I know that a lot is going on in the UK right now," she said, "and it's starting to feel a little hopeless but it will get better, Lucy. It always does. Trust me. I've been there. I've felt the way you felt and I too felt very hopeless but it got easier. It just took some time."

"My friend, Dorcas Meadowes, liked you too. I told her all about you," Lucy said, looking up again. Peggy gave her a little smile. "She was really strong like you and she fought really hard for what she thought was right."

"She sounds like a great girl. How old was she?" Peggy asked.

"She was twenty," Lucy replied.

Peggy sighed. "That's very young."

Lucy nodded. "They said she was one of the strongest members of the Order of the Phoenix and everyone thought that she was untouchable... but..." Tears started falling down her face. "But then he killed her. He's called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I don't know why. Apparently he's really strong too. Stronger than her."

"Sometimes in a war," Peggy said, pulling a kleenex out of the box on the side table and handing it to Lucy, "we lose people we love. They fight really hard and they sacrifice so much for what they believe in. They are heros. They all are."

"How long did it take you to forget?" Lucy asked. "After - after Steve Rogers died."

Peggy smiled a little. "I like that you call him by his real name," she said. "Most people just say Captain America."

"I read what you said about it," Lucy said with a small smile. "That he was so much more than Captain America. That he was Steve Rogers."

"And he was," she said with a smile, reaching out and tousling Lucy's hair. "You don't forget, Lucy. You never forget but you learn to live with it."

"My chest hurts," Lucy said. "I feel like I have a hole in my chest and it won't go away. I just want it to go away."

"I know, love," Peggy said with a sigh, putting her hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I feel the same way. I feel like there's a hole in my chest too but I learned how to live with it. It hurts a lot right now and it will probably still hurt every now and again but you learn how to live with that pain. You learn how to live around what was left behind by that person."

Lucy thought about this for a second. "You can live with a hole in you chest?"

"You'd be surprised with how much a person can live through, Lucy," Peggy said with a smile. "You seem like a very strong little girl. I think you could overcome anything."

"Can I ask you a question about Steve?" she asked.

"Sure."

"They say that you were the last person to talk to him. What did you talk about?" Lucy asked.

Peggy smiled a little. "He asked me to go dancing."

"Really?"

"Yes, at the Stork Club in New York City. Saturday at eight o'clock on the dot," she said. Lucy didn't respond. She knew that he did not keep his date. Peggy gave her a small smile. "It's okay. I'm okay."

They sat in silence for a little while before Lucy decided to try changing the subject to something less sad. "My mum," she said, "told me that you can do one hundred and seven one armed push ups."

Peggy laughed and shook her head. "I used to be able to do that many but I don't think I can even do one now."

"I read about your work for the SSR," Lucy said. "Can you tell me about when you got Howard Stark off for treason?"

Peggy smile and nodded. She went into the story of the first real case she got at the SSR after the war. Lucy asked her more questions and she told her more stories. Lucy loved every second of it. Talking to Peggy Carter only made her admiration for the woman grow. She looked up to her so much and wished that she could be as strong and awesome as Peggy was.

Eventually it was starting to get very late. They had talked all through dinner time and much past Lucy's bedtime without realizing it. Finally Peggy looked down at her watch and her eyes widened. "Wow," she said with a laugh. "It's almost midnight! We've been talking for a very long time, Lucy."

Lucy sighed. "You have to go?"

"Unfortunately I do," Peggy said with a small smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small card and a pen. "This is my card," she said as she started scribbling on it. "And this is my personal number. If you ever need anything just call this number. Maybe when you're older we can talk about my organization, S.H.I.E.L.D.. I think you might be a good fit for it but we can talk about it more then."

Lucy smiled and took the card. "Thank you."

Peggy stood up and took Lucy's hand. As they walked towards the office door, Peggy said, "You're probably the strongest seven year old I've ever met, Lucy. I know that you don't think you are right now but you are. Just remember, if you know your value, anybody else's opinion doesn't really matter."

Lucy smiled. "Thank you for talking with me," she said as Peggy opened the door and they walked outside where Raj and Minerva were waiting. "I really love everything you've done. I hope that one day I can be awesome like you."

"I'm sure you will be," Peggy said with a laugh as Minerva and Raj stood up and walked towards them. "I think you're already a lot more awesome than I am."

"No way," Lucy said with a laugh. "You're much more awesome than I am! You're like real life Wonder Woman!"

Raj smiled. "I'm guessing that went well."

Peggy smiled. "You have quite the daughter, Minerva," she said. "You should be very proud."

"I am," Minerva said with a smile.

Peggy knelt down in front of Lucy again and gave her a hug. "It was nice to meet you, Lucy," she said. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Bye, Peggy," Lucy said with a smile.

They pull away and Peggy said goodbye to Minerva and Raj as well before heading down to where her car was parked in the parkade downstairs. When she was gone, Lucy ran to her uncle and hugged his legs tightly. "I can't believe you got Peggy Carter to come here and talk to me!" she exclaimed in the happy, excited voice that Minerva had missed so much. "Thank you so much, Uncle Raj! You're the best!"

Raj laughed, reached down and picked her up. "I know. I'm pretty great, huh?"

Lucy nodded vigorously and Minerva rolled her eyes. "Alright," she said. "We should get back to Hogwarts."

"I know it's late but why don't we go out for some food?" Raj said. "Neither of us have eaten anything and would it really be that bad if you stay away from Hogwarts for a little while longer."

"Can we, Mum?" Lucy asked. "Please!"

"Alright," Minerva said with a smile. She was happy to hear Lucy sounding like herself again. "Let's go."

"Wonderful!" Raj said. "My car's downstairs. Let's go."

He started walking with Lucy still in his arms and Minerva followed behind them. They got in Raj's car and he drove them to a nice nearby restaurant. They got a table and ordered their food. In between bite, Lucy excitedly told them all about what she and Peggy had talked about. Minerva was happy to see her appetite had returned. Lucy was hardly able to get through any of her stories as she just kept cutting herself off by interjecting "I love her so much!" and "Isn't she so awesome!"

Finally they left the restaurant, Raj drove himself back home and Minerva Apparated herself and Lucy back to Hogwarts. She finally got her to calm down a little bit and get into bed, her own bed thankfully, and then went back to her own room to get ready for bed as well.

* * *

 _ **Thursday, May 27th 1999**_

As the days passed Lucy got a lot better. Her conversation with Peggy Carter really helped her get back on track. She gained back most of the weight she lost. She played more with her friends and she sounded more like her usual energetic, enthusiastic self. Anne was so happy to see Lucy getting back to how she used to be before Dorcas's dead. Lucy told Anne, Tonks, Charlie and Bill all about her meeting with Peggy. Some would describe it as bragging but they were all very interesting in hearing all about the Peggy Carter. At least the first few time anyways. They couldn't believe that Lucy actually got to talk to her.

Daniel and Nina came back to Hogwarts as well and Lucy wasted no time telling them about Peggy too. She held off on telling them in letters because she wanted to do it face to face. They were both very happy to see Lucy getting better as well. Nina loved hearing all of Peggy's stories but Daniel got tired of them pretty fast and left them to talk on their own while he went and laid down. He couldn't believe that he had actually missed Lucy talking his ear off.

Lucy bragged about her meeting with anyone who would talk to her. Remus heard all about it every morning and after school. He saw the way she improved at school while watching her play with her friends at recess and was glad to see her finally getting better. He reported his findings back to Minerva, who was very happy to hear it. James, Lily, and Sirius were also told very loudly and frantically about the Peggy Carter. Sirius and Remus were still not getting along very well and Lucy had tried to get them to talk but they didn't seem to listen to her. She asked Minerva what was wrong but Minerva said that she didn't know. Lucy wasn't sure that she actually believed that.

Dumbledore and Amelia weren't safe from Lucy's excitement either. Her weekly chess game with Dumbledore was filled with conversation related only to Peggy Carter or the other Howling Commandos and Amelia's weekend visit consisted mostly of stories and 'did you know' facts about the woman. Amelia wondered if Ms. Carter truly understood how much her meeting had meant to Lucy. She was glad to see Lucy happy again. Lucy showed her the card Peggy had given her. She kept it in her photo album and said that it was in case of emergencies only. Lucy told herself that when she was older she would call the number and ask Peggy about this S.H.I.E.L.D. organization she talked about.

"I have to hand it to you, Raj," Amelia said into the phone. She was sitting at the desk in her office at home talking with Raj like she did almost every night. "You may have singlehandedly fixed everything."

"I know," Raj said with a laugh. "I will accept my Best Godparent of All Time award now, thank you."

"You may have gotten a very big lead but I don't think the race is over just quite," she said with a laugh.

"Maybe not," he said. "I look forward to seeing how you catch up."

"I'm sure I'll think of something soon, though I will remind you," she said, "it is not a competition."

"When has anything with you not been a competition, Bones?" he said. "I recall the four of us going out and you coming back to the table having gotten a guy's number after I got a girl's number just to prove that you could do it as well."

"Hey, I recall you only getting that girl's number because you wanted to prove to me that you could do it in less than two minutes so..."

"So..."

Amelia smiled and shook her head. "You're annoying. I don't know why I talk to you."

"Yet you call me almost every single night."

"I think it was you who called me today, Patil."

"Was it? I'm not sure," he said with a laugh. It had been him. Of course it had been him.

Amelia smiled. "You are a child," she said.

"Eh, but you love me," he said with a laugh.

She didn't respond. Her smile faded. It was a joke. It was just a joke. Raj was always making jokes. She shook her head and smiled again. "Well," she said, "I took Daniel and Nina up to Hogwarts the other day."

"Yes, that's good," Raj said. He wasn't smiling anymore either, she could hear it in his voice. "I'm glad they're up there now. It makes me feel a little better."

"Yes, me too. Hogwarts is a lot safer than Canterbury," she said with a nod.

"You know, Daniel's been working really hard. They both took spring courses this year which is why they got off later than usual," Raj said. "I was talking to him the other day and he was telling me that he may be able to graduate a year early."

"Wow," Amelia said. "That's excellent. Will he be taking over Collins Enterprises after he graduates?"

"I'm not sure. It'll be up to him of course. I don't think he's decided yet."

"I see."

"So, anyways, what about you? How's work going?"

"So busy," Amelia mumbled with a sigh. "You can still feel the absence left by Dorcas. Everyone still misses her a lot. She wasn't an actual Auror but she did so much for them."

Raj sighed. "She was a great girl," he said. "I only met her a few times but she seemed wonderful. And I will admit that I do love seeing more Indian people in high status positions like her."

Amelia smiled a little. "It's a shame that you don't see it more often."

"It is," he said.

"Alastor acted very strange after her death," Amelia said.

"Really?" Raj asked. He wasn't thrilled about having to talk about Alastor Moody right now. "I didn't think that man felt anything at all."

"Me neither," Amelia said with a sad little laugh. "It was actually quite shocking to see him like that. I think he actually cried a few tears. I have never seen him cry before. He and Dorcas were very close. They worked together a lot and he took a liking to her. He was hoping that after the war was over she would take a job in the Auror office and he would train her personally. He keeps talking about how powerful a witch she was and how much good she would have done on the Aurors."

"She would have," Raj said.

Amelia took a deep breath. "I just... I know he misses her. I know he was hurt by her death," she said softly, "and I know that this is going to sound horrible but... can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I think... I worry that it isn't just Dorcas that he misses," Amelia whispered. "It's her power. I'm sure he liked her a lot but... the way he talks about her now... I don't know. It just makes me feel like all he cared about was how powerful she was. I mean, I know everyone talks about how powerful and strong she was. Lucy talks about it all the time but when you talk to her you know that she loved Dorcas for more than just her magic. Dorcas was an amazing witch with her whole life ahead of her. She was very powerful but that wasn't all she was. Alastor sometimes makes it sound like that's all she was."

"I... wow," Raj said softly. "I don't know what to say. I don't know him very well so I can't tell you for sure if that's true or not but that really sucks."

"Yeah..." Amelia said with a sigh. "When I think back... it's always been this way. Two years ago a very close friend of mine and Minerva's and his wife were murder. Fleamont Potter. You've met James, I think. His father. He and Euphemia Potter were killed on their forty fifth wedding anniversary by a Death Eater and Alastor was the same after he died. I thought they were friends too. Fleamont was Deputy Head of the Auror Office and had known Alastor for years and years but after he died... Alastor just talked about how powerful he was and how much great magic was wasted."

"That's horrible."

"And you should hear the way he talks about Lucy," she continued. "He's seen her do magic. He knows how powerful she is. You know, I've actually heard him mix her and Dorcas's names up before."

"That feels kind of... racist."

"I don't think he means to be but I can see how you could feel that way," she said with a sigh. "He knows it makes me uncomfortable when he talks about how great it would be to have Lucy on our team but he does it anyway."

"Lucy is seven. She is not fighting this war. There is no way Minerva, you, and I are going to let that happen."

"I know but I wish he would stop. He likes the idea of not needing a wand," she said. "Says it's good for combat because there's no risk of being disarmed."

"He doesn't know about the Prophecy, does he?" Raj asked, very worried now. He couldn't imagine Moody finding out and then trying to get Lucy out there on the front lines. Raj would do anything to keep that little girl safe and if that means having to fight a huge, muscular wizard so be it.

"No, thankfully no," Amelia said. "And I doubt he will. I couldn't imagine the ideas he would get in his head if he heard that."

"I know," Raj said with a sigh.

"I think that he's always been like this," Amelia mumbled. "I just didn't see it till now. Like you said, he doesn't feel anything at all. For Fleamont, for Dorcas, for Lucy... for me."

"I never meant -"

"I think that Alastor Moody is a great wizard. He is great at what he does, he is a great Head of the Auror Office and I think that he will be for a very long time," Amelia said, cutting him off. "He is a great soldier, a great man, but he's not a good one. He's not a very nice person."

Raj sighed. "I don't think he's a very nice person either," he said. "And I think that he must be a lot worse than I thought if he's getting that from the nicest person I know."

"I am not the nicest person you know," Amelia said with a little laugh.

"You are. You are very nice and kind," Raj said with a smile. "So to hear you say something as horrible as telling me that Moody isn't a very nice person? It's shocking. Just absolutely shocking."

Amelia laughed again, wiping the tears off her cheeks. Raj was good at making her feel better. She remembered why she liked talking to him every single night so much now.

"I know that I'm not a very nice person either but -"

"What are you talking about?" Amelia said. "You are a very nice person. You've proven it time and time again. I mean, you got the Peggy Carter to come down to the UK just to talk to Lucy. You take care of them all so much. Not just the kids either, Minerva too. You do so much for her. I've seen it. You are a very nice person."

Raj smiled. "Well, I guess I did do that stuff," he said, "but it's not that big a deal. It's just my job."

"It's not your job which is what makes it so great, Raj. You could have dropped them. You could have left, took the CEO position for yourself, made more money than you already do, and completely cut them out but you didn't," she said. "You stayed and you helped them. You set things up to ensure their success in the future and they appreciate it. They all do. So, so much, Raj."

"But the custody -"

"That's forgiven and forgotten," Amelia said with a smile. "That was you just trying to protect those children again. It was just a misstep. You were under a lot of stress too, Raj. You were going through a loss too. You are allowed to make mistakes."

"I suppose."

"And you didn't have all the information then either. You had no idea what was going now and why Daniel had just let this woman walk back into his life without any problem whatsoever," she continued. "You were allowed to have your reservations about that. Now you know, now you understand, and you have apologized too. I mean, that's not something I could see Alastor Moody ever doing... Not that I'm trying to compare the two of you, of course."

Raj laughed. "I don't know how well I would stack up to the great Alastor Moody."

"Oh, you would definitely win over him any day," Amelia said with a smile. "You may not be a wizard but you are a much better person than he is. Much better."

"Why, thank you, Bones," Raj said with a smile.

"Of course, Patil," Amelia said.

There was a pause in which Raj thought over everything she had said. Was she really over Alastor Moody? Did she not have a crush on him anymore? He wondered if now was a good time. Should he say something? Minerva would say yes, but she wasn't here right now.

"Ah, Amelia -"

"Well, I should - oh, sorry, what was that?"

"No, you go ahead."

"I was just going to say that it was getting kind of late and that we should both probably head to bed," Amelia said with a smile. "What was it you were saying?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It can wait," he said, shaking his head. Now wasn't the time for stuff like this. Amelia had bigger things to focus on and he shouldn't distract her from them. "It is getting quite late. I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright, have a good night, Raj."

"You too."

They said goodbye and hung up the phone. Amelia shuffled the papers on her desk into a neat little pile and got up. She walked out of the office and into her bedroom. Before she even had a chance to start getting ready for bed however, an owl tapped on her window. She opened it and took the note from the owl's leg. It flew off as she opened the note.

 _Twenty two Death Eaters arrested in raid. Need your expertise. Please come at once._

 _A.M._

Amelia sighed, folded the note back up and closed the window. It seemed she wasn't going to be getting very much sleep tonight. She grabbed her travel coat and headed for the door so she could Apparate to the Ministry.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading! Raj is an amazing character and probably one of my favourites of all my characters. He's such a great guys and I have fun writing him. I'd love to know which characters you guys like! Please review and let me know!


	27. TLT -- 27

_**Saturday, June 12th 1999**_

Minerva sat down on a chair in front of a stage next to Raj, Daniel and Nina. The curtains on the stage were drawn and other people were still filing into their seats. Minerva looked down at the program booklet in her hand.

"Looks like Lucy's performance is fourth," she said.

"I'm glad she decided to do dance again," Raj said with a smile. He looked down at his own program booklet. "She's up against five other girls, it seems."

"I'm so glad she's dancing again too," Nina said with a smile as she got her camera ready for when Lucy came out. "I love doing her makeup and helping her into dresses that she is actually okay with wearing."

"Oh yeah, I never thought about that," Daniel mumbled with a scowl, thinking about all the days he had spent just trying to get her to put on a freaking dress for some event or another. She was always so stubborn and annoying. "She wears her ballet dresses no problem but any other dress becomes this whole big thing,"

Minerva smiled. She was about to say something when the lights began to fade out and the spotlights on the stage came on. A skinny man wearing a black suit came out onto the stage and introduced the event.

"Welcome to the thirty-first annual _Petites Étoiles_ Competition. Tonight we are joined by three spectacular judges," the host said with a lot of pep and enthusiasm. "Simone Faucher, Laurette Samson, and Philippe Tailler."

The crowd applauded as the three judges walked out onto the stage and took their seats at the judging desk near the back. The program got started and the dances began. Girls came on the stage to dance their solos. Eventually it was Lucy's turn. Minerva watched her walk slowly to center stage and smiled. She had been so nervous this morning but now looked confident and ready. Lucy looked over the crowd and saw her family in the distance. She gave them a little smile.

The soft music faded in and Lucy started dancing. Minerva watched her move, twirl, and jump gracefully about the stage. Her movements were elegant and beautiful. She was swift and controlled and disciplined. Her dance was emotional and told the story of someone who felt hopeless. Someone who felt stuck. Minerva knew that Lucy was working through a lot of her own emotions through her dancing and she was glad. It was definitely a good, healthy way to for her to do so. Lucy looked at home up on that stage and it came through in her dancing. Minerva could tell that this was something that her daughter really loved. Maybe Lucy would become a ballerina when she was older. Minerva definitely thought that she had the skill and the determination to do so.

Lucy finished her routine and left the stage. A few more performances in her category took place and then other categories started. Eventually the whole program ended and awards started. Lucy's category was called and all six girls walked out on the stage to see who won. Lucy looked nervous again now. Minerva caught her eye and gave her a reassuring smile. Lucy smiled back. The host awarded the runner ups.

"For the Ballet Petite, eight and under, category; third place is awarded to... Liza Rodriguez!"

The crowd cheered as a little girl wearing a blue tutu ran forward excitedly. The girl's parents jumped up out of their seats to cheer on their daughter. She shook the hand of the host and accepted her trophy before moving off to the side a little bit to wait for the other winners. Cameras flashed throughout the exchange. Lucy was getting more and more nervous as time passed. She hadn't gotten third.

"Second place is awarded to... Sophie Garfield!"

Another little girl left the lineup and walked forward towards the host. Unlike Liza, Sophie walked more slowly and gracefully instead of running forward excitedly. The crowd cheered again and the girl's parents jumped out of their seats. Lucy sighed. That was it. She hadn't placed at all. She knew she hadn't. She was sad. She had tried very hard and had been very confident in her dance yet she hadn't been good enough to even place.

"Finally first place! This award goes to the best dancer of this evening and this dancer will move on to the nationals competition in December," the host said loudly into the microphone. "And the first place winner is... Lucy Collins!"

Lucy blinked a couple times. She had won? She had won! The host turned to look at her and she smiled and walked forward. She did her best to control her excitement, wanting to be like Sophie. Calm, sophisticated and not surprised by her win. She shook the host's, kind of sweaty, hand and accepted the trophy. Looking out into the cheering crowd, she saw Minerva, Raj, Nina and Daniel all on their feet cheering her on. She smiled for cameras and shook the host's hand one more time before walking over to the other two winners. They had their pictures taken together before going back offstage.

"Great job, Lucy!"

"Way to go!"

"I knew you were going to win! You were the best one out there!"

"I really loved your routine!"

Lucy smiled and thanked her friends and teachers backstage. She was still in a little bit of a shock from winning. She had not expected to get first place and move on to nationals! She also had not expected this much congratulations and praise backstage. At her old studio they had not been as supportive. Her teacher had always been but the other girls in her class had never even told her good job. They were all too busy worrying about their own performances to worry about her. She was really glad that she had changed studios.

Eventually the rest of the categories had been called, the awards awarded, and the program ended. Lucy walked out from backstage and found Daniel, Nina, Raj and Minerva waiting for her. She ran up to them and Minerva pulled her into a hug.

"Good job, my darling! I'm so proud of you!" Minerva said with a smile. "You did so well and I could tell you worked so hard!"

Lucy smiled. "Thanks," she said. Minerva took her trophy for her so she could hug Nina.

"You danced beautifully, Lucy," Nina said when they pulled away. "I knew you were going to win!"

"You were great up there, kid," Daniel said with a smile, tousling her hair a bit.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. She looked over at Raj and he reached down and picked her up. She hugged him and he gave her a little squeeze.

"That was amazing, Lucy," he said with a smile. "You were probably the best dancer up there."

"Definitely," Daniel said with a smile.

They walked outside, Raj still carrying Lucy, and over to Raj's car. He drove them to a restaurant so they could celebrate Lucy's win. Lucy told them all about how nervous she was and how surprised she was when won as they ate. She told them about how big a deal Nationals was and how scared she was for that competition. She would have to work really hard to do well there. She was glad that she had quite a bit of time to get ready for it. Minerva smiled and told Lucy that she knew that she would work very hard and do very well at this competition as well. After they were done at the restaurant, Raj drove himself back to London and Minerva, Lucy, Daniel, and Nina took a Portkey back to Hogwarts.

* * *

 _ **Friday, June 25th 1999**_

"How come you didn't want to play outside today?" Anne asked as she and Lucy walked through the shelves in their school library. It was the last day of school but the girls weren't playing outside with all the other children. They had gotten permission to spend their break inside today since Lucy had said that there was something important she wanted to tell her. "What did you want to tell me?"

"It's a huge secret that I'm not supposed to tell you but it's so hard not to tell you, Anne!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper. "So hard!"

Anne laughed. "Why aren't you supposed to tell me?"

"It's the law," Lucy said, walking to the end of the row and looking around quickly to make sure that no one was around who could overhear them. She saw nobody so she turned back to her friend. "We couldn't even tell Uncle Raj for a really long time but now he knows and I want you to know too."

"Wow, okay," Anne said, very intrigued by what this secret could be. It must be very big if Lucy hadn't been allowed to tell her uncle.

"Anne, this is going to sound really weird and you're probably not going to believe me when I tell you but hear me out, okay?" Lucy said.

"Okay..." she said a little uncertainly.

"I'm a witch," Lucy said. "I can do magic. My mum's a witch too, that's how come I am even though my dad and Daniel can't do magic."

"You can do magic?" Anne said with a smile on her face that told Lucy she didn't believe her. She probably thought this was some sort of game.

"Yeah, I can," Lucy said with a nod. "Watch this. _Accio Pride and Prejudice_."

Four copies of the same book flew off the shelves and came over towards the girls. Anne stared at them with wide eyes as Lucy grabbed each of them out of the air.

"See?"

"You... oh my god! Lucy, that was so cool! Do more! Do more!" Anne said.

"Okay!" Lucy said with a smile. She handed Anne the books and took the one on top. Slowly the book began to bend and the papers folded back until it took the shape of a bird. The paper bird fluttered out of Lucy's hands and flew into the air around the girls.

"Wow!" Anne said, watching it go. "That's amazing!"

The bird came back to Lucy and she changed it back into a book. She had the books fly back into their rightful places on the shelves. She and Anne sat down on the floor so that Lucy could tell her all about the Wizarding World.

"So, you're mum's a witch and she teaches at this Hogwarts school?" Anne asked.

"Yeah! It's really cool, Anne! It's this huge castle where loads of people live now," she said happily. "Mum teach Transfigurations. That's the magic of turning one thing into another like I did to the book."

"That's so cool," Anne said.

"Yeah, so there's a whole world of magic people but," Lucy sighed and shook her head, "they're not having a very good time right now. There are these bad guys called the Death Eaters. They think that they're better than people who can't do magic and want to hurt them. They're at war with the Order of the Phoenix, a group that believes that everyone should have the same rights even if they can't do magic or their parents can't do magic. They're really bad. They're the ones that... that killed Dorcas."

"Oh my god..." Anne said quietly. "War?"

"Yeah, the war has been going on for six years, Mum says. My mum and my Aunty Amelia are in the Order. Last year the Death Eaters came to our house to hurt us but some of our friends were able to save us," Lucy said quietly. "Nina and I were home alone but James and Sirius were able to come in time to stop them."

"They came to your house! Oh my god, Lucy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay but we're not allowed at home anymore. That's why we went away for the whole summer," Lucy said. "That's why I couldn't see you all summer."

"Oh, where did you go?" Anne asked, still looking very worried.

"We went to Hogwarts. A lot of people live there now because of the war," she said. "I stay there now with my mum. Daniel and Nina stay in at the University during school so they can still go to class but they come back to Hogwarts during their breaks. They're back now. Remus Apparates me to and from school everyday. Apparating is when you disappear from one place and appear in another. Like teleportation."

"That's so cool," Anne said. "So will you be there all this summer too? When will you come back to Rochester?"

"Mum said that we can come back when the war is over," Lucy said. "It sucks because I can't go over to your house or invite you over because of it. Hopefully this summer I can convince my mum to let me come see you. I hate not being able to see you."

"I hope so too. I hated the summer you were away!" she said. "It was so boring!"

"I'll talk to my mum," Lucy said. "Hopefully we can do something. I'm so glad you know now. It was so hard to keep the secret from you."

"I'm glad you told me too," Anne said with a smile. "When you come over this summer you have to show me more magic!"

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile. "I'll bring some of my books so you can read them too. They're really interesting."

"That sounds awesome!" Anne said. "I can't wait."

...

"Mundungus Fletcher is cleared," Minerva said, flopping down on the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. "If you can believe that. I would have put all my money on him to be completely honest."

Dumbledore smiled a little. "Mr. Fletcher is a lot of things," he said, "but he is not a blood supremacist."

"I'm glad he draws the line somewhere," Minerva mumbled. She stretched her back a bit and sighed. "So, how are things in Reading? I heard about the Giants."

"Thirteen dead, muggles are blaming a tornado," he mumbled, smile gone now. "It's getting harder and harder to hide the giants."

"How's Hagrid's work going? Has he made any headway?" Minerva asked.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "It seems the Death Eaters are offering far better gifts than we are," he said with a sigh. "They think they will get a lot better treatment when You-Know-Who is in power."

"That's ridiculous. Once he has no use for them he'll have them all destroyed too," she muttered. "They should know that. He doesn't care about them."

"He's good at making them think he does."

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "I saw the state Hagrid was in when he got back," she said sadly. He had been beaten and bruised, cuts all over his face. Pomfrey couldn't help him either because magic did nothing on Giant skin. "It's getting unsafe for him to be around them. I don't think you should send him back again."

"He knows of the risks associated with his task," he replied.

"The Giants have said no. What more can Hagrid do but go and get tossed around by them?" Minerva asked with a frown. "He can be more useful elsewhere."

"He has his small group -"

"And we can live with that," Minerva said. "Send him to Newport with Peter and Sirius. Hagrid can help with the raids there."

Dumbledore didn't say anything for a long time. She glared at him until finally he mumbled, "I will think it over."

Minerva sighed and shook her head, knowing that probably meant no. "Well, I'll be investigating Sturgis and Dedalus next," she said, deciding to change the subject. "All the students that were leaving left on the Hogwarts Express a few minutes ago and Emmeline and Charles came back from their raid safely. They managed to arrest three Death Eaters."

"That's good," he said with a nod.

"I have nothing else to report at this time."

He gave her a little smile. "Lucy should be back from school soon so I will let you go," he said. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Goodbye, Albus," Minerva said, standing up and leaving the office.

...

"Hey, Mum," Lucy said, walking into her mother's office with her backpack on her back.

Minerva looked up from her desk and gave her a smile. "Hello, darling," she said, putting her quill down and leaning back in her chair. "How was your last day of school?"

"It was okay," she said. Lucy walked around the desk and resting her head on Minerva's leg. Minerva smiled and ran her fingers through Lucy's hair. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile.

"You won't get mad?"

MInerva raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh no," she said. "What did you do?"

"Nothing too bad," Lucy said, looking up with a smile.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I may have... accidentally... told Anne about magic and the war and everything," Lucy said quickly, looking down again.

Minerva looked at her for a second before sighing. "That lasted a lot longer than I thought it would."

Lucy looked up. "What?"

"I thought you would have told her a long time ago," Minerva said, pulling Lucy up into her lap. "I understand telling some people, Lucy, but you can't just go around telling everyone. You can get in a lot of trouble for that."

"I know but Anne is my best friend!" Lucy said. "She tells me everything and I have to tell her everything too because that's what friends do!"

MInerva smiled a little bit. "Alright," she said. "You made sure that Anne understands she's not allowed to tell anybody though, right?"

Lucy nodded vigorously. "Anne won't tell anyone," Lucy said. "We can trust her."

"Of course," Minerva said.

Lucy smiled and hugged Minerva's chest. She rested her head on her mother and said, "Can you take me to meet her during the summer? Last summer I didn't get to see her at all and it was terrible! I missed her so much!"

Minerva smiled. "I'm sure we can figure something out," she said quietly. Lucy smiled and got up. She took off her backpack and sat down properly in Minerva's lap, resting her head on her mother's chest. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and sighed. "Is there something else bothering you?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, just tired," she said. "So, are the students gone?"

"Yes," Minerva replied, combing her fingers through Lucy's hair again. "Left a little while ago. Daniel and Nina are inside the sitting room, why don't you go say hi and put your bag away? Then you can go down to Classroom C and play with Nymphadora, Bill and Charlie."

Lucy nodded. She slid off her mother's lap and walked towards the trapdoor. Minerva sighed and shook her head as she watched Lucy disappear inside.

...

Lucy was sitting on the floor of a classroom playing cards with Tonks. Other children were running around playing loudly as they played. Lucy picked up a card from the deck and said, "My birthday is coming up and I'll finally be eight too like you and Charlie."

Tonks smiled. "You're still younger than me."

Lucy stuck out her tongue at her making Tonks laugh. She was about to say something when she heard some sort of commotion from across the room. The two girls turned to see a group of children crowding around something.

"What are they looking at?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know," Tonks replied, putting her cards down and standing up. "Wanna go see?"

Lucy nodded and got up as well. She and Tonks walked over to the group and pushed their way to the front. In the center of the group of children was a boy Lucy knew was named Trevor holding a brown wrapped package.

"What is it?" asked a girl in the crowd.

"I don't know," Trevor said with a smile. He was very much enjoying all the attention he was getting from the other children. "I found it in the Great Hall after the students left. I don't know what's in it."

"Open it!" someone said excited.

Trevor smiled and ripped open the package. He pulled out a smaller black box with weird engravings and a silver crank on the side. Trevor started turning the crank and tinkering music started coming out. Lucy frowned. She had a bad feeling about this but she didn't say anything. She didn't normally like toys like this but something felt off about this one. She knew something was going to pop out but this didn't look a normal _Jack in the Box_ toy.

The music came to an end and the top of the box opened with a pop. Lucy didn't get a chance to see what popped out because suddenly black smoke rolled out of the box and encompassed the children. Lucy couldn't see anything. She started coughing as the smoke entered her lungs and reached out to grab Tonks for support. It felt like someone had reached down her throat and was squeezing her insides in a fist. Tonks took her hand and tried to drag Lucy out of the smoke but she was coughing crazily as well. Suddenly she fell over, pulling Lucy down with her. Lucy hit the cold hard floor and felt very dizzy. She tried to scream as she felt extreme heat across her face but the smoke had filled her lungs and was choking her from the inside. She felt like her lungs and skin were on fire. She felt like her organs were melting inside her. The pain was too much for her. Lucy blacked out.

Andromeda Tonks saw the smoke when it erupted from the center of the group of children and ran towards them with her wand out. Other parents followed. They used their wand to contain the smoke so it wouldn't fill the entire room and disappeared it. To their horror, under the smoke they found nine children lying unconscious on the ground barely breathing. Black marks, burns, and red rashes covered every part of the children's exposed skin. Andromeda ran to Tonks and checked her pulse quickly, tears filling her eyes. She felt a very faint pulse.

"Dora! Dora, wake up!" she cried but Tonks didn't move. She looked around and pointed at a short plump witch looking on in horror. "Go tell Madam Pomfrey what's happened, we'll bring the children."

The woman jumped slightly before racing from the room. Andromeda and some other witches and wizards conjured up stretchers for the children. She pushed Lucy and Tonks's stretcher out of the room and towards the Hospital Wing as quickly as possible.

They made it to the Hospital Wing and Pomfrey directed them to different beds. She and the other Healers, that had come to Hogwarts to help with injuries sustained by Order members during raids, got to work right away to try and figure out what had happened.

Dumbledore and Minerva burst into the room, followed closely behind by Daniel and Nina. Dumbledore looked furious. No one had ever seen him look so angry and it scared them even more. Everyone was used to Dumbledore providing a calm, well composed front. To see him this way told them that whatever had happened was very serious. He had the black box floating in front of him and stormed to Pomfrey's desk. Minerva, Nina and Daniel saw Lucy and ran to her bedside quickly.

Tears filled Minerva's eyes when she saw the condition Lucy was in. Horrible burns covered her face and arms. Red rashes surrounded the corners of her mouth and her lips were jet black. Nina burst into tears and Daniel held her close. Minerva moved closer to the bed and pushed hair out of Lucy's face.

"Oh, my darling," she whispered, tears falling down her face. She looked at the Healer that was working on her and asked, "Is she - is she going to be okay?"

The Healer gave her an unsure look. "We're not sure, Professor," she said softly. "Their lungs have been covered in some sort of black soot and burns. We're still trying to determine what the best treatment would be."

Minerva glared at her for a second before turning on her heel and storming to Pomfrey's desk too. "What the hell happened?"

Pomfrey looked at her sadly and shook her head. "We don't know for sure."

"Somehow this dark object entered this castle," Dumbledore said angrily, motioning towards the black box. "A child found it and brought to where the other children were playing. Some of the parents were able to contain the smoke before it filled the whole room and infected everyone else as well."

Minerva looked at the box with so much hatred. "This was obviously aimed at the children!" she exclaimed, looking at the dark object obviously posing as a child's toy. "Whoever brought it here knew that this was something that a child would find amusing! Those idiots are targeting children!"

Dumbledore sighed and closed his eyes. After a second he said, "How are the children?"

"Alive," Pomfrey whispered, looking around at the beds where the Healers were working. Parents were crying at their children's bedside, holding their hands and begging them to wake up. Lights from the Healer's diagnostic spells flashed every so often. Whispered discussions of the security of Hogwarts drifted through the the tense air. Pomfrey sighed. "We'll see what we can do."

"I will send Horace up to help identify what poison was used. Minerva - actually, no. You stay with your child," Dumbledore said. "I will have Pomona organize everyone else back into their rooms. Every item in this castle must be tested. I'll have some Aurors come up and search the castle to make sure there is no other dark object hiding somewhere a child could find."

Minerva and Pomfrey nodded. Pomfrey said, "The boy over there, Trevor Kilian was the one with the box. When he wakes up you will be able to ask him where he found it. Maybe he will be able to provide some useful information."

Dumbledore nodded. He floated the black box back up and said his goodbye before heading out of the Hospital Wing. Minerva sighed and watched him go for a second. She looked around the room and saw the panicked look on everyone's faces. She looked over at Lucy's bed. Nina and Daniel had found chair and were sitting beside the bed. Nina had a hand on Lucy's cheek and tears in her eyes still.

She turned back and looked at Pomfrey. "Lucy... her lungs are already quite weaker than the average person because she was born so early," she whispered, tears filling her own eyes. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know, Minerva," Pomfrey said honestly. "We'll do what we can."

Minerva sighed again and nodded. She walked back over to Lucy and looked at the girl. She drew up her own chair on the other side of the bed from Nina and Daniel and took Lucy's little hand in her's.

"She's strong," Daniel said quietly. "She'll be okay." He looked around at the other children. "They'll all be okay."

* * *

 ** _Thursday, July 1st 1999_**

Almost a week passed and the children showed no sign of recovery. Pomfrey and Slughorn were still trying to determine the poison used. It was difficult as they didn't have much of a sample to go on. The children had been given potion after potion but nothing woke them.

The panic from the attack had become a constant lull in the background. People were on edge as day after day passed and the children stayed unconscious. People were starting to get very worried that their children might never wake up. Murmurs spread through the halls. Was Hogwarts no longer safe? Two families had even left to take up refuge somewhere else. Minerva could not say that the same thought hadn't crossed her mind. She had brought Lucy to Hogwarts thinking this would be the safest place for her and yet this happened. Had she been wrong about the security of Hogwarts?

The pressure of this panic had started putting a strain on many relationships. Nina was beginning to think that going back to Canterbury when Lucy woke up would be the best course of action. Daniel on the other hand believed that any option where the four of them could all stay together was the best option. They had gotten into it a few times which usually ended in a huff and a "we'll talk about it later". Minerva saw other arguments around the same lines between parents, debating whether they should stay at Hogwarts or not. Pomfrey had to shuffle three couples out of the Hospital Wing after a yelling match broke out.

The whole castle had been searched head to toe for any other dark object that may be lurking. Barty Crouch himself had come along with the Aurors to carry out the search. Nothing strange was found and no one had any information that would help ascertain how this package made its way into the castle. Everyone's personal belongings had also been checked. Some protested that this was an invasion of privacy but after what happened Dumbledore didn't want to take anymore chances. He admitted it was quite authoritarian but this was war and at present safety of everyone under Hogwarts's care was his first priority.

Minerva was sitting beside Lucy's bed as always. The burn marks on her face were still bright red and painful looking. The poison was obviously magical as the wounds it inflicted were not healing normally. Raj was sitting beside her with his arms crossed. Remus had shown him the Leaky Cauldron and he used the Floo from there to Dumbledore's office every night to see Lucy. Dumbledore didn't mind his comings and goings. He understood. Daniel and Nina were sitting on the other side of the bed fast asleep. Isobel was sitting beside them also asleep. She had heard about the attack in the Prophet and had sent a letter to Minerva right away. Minerva's vague response caused her to come straight up to the castle to make sure everything was okay. She had let out a horrifying noise the first time she saw Lucy laying in the bed and had been staying at the castle ever since. Amelia basically lived at the castle now too. She was sat on Minerva's other side. She only left Lucy's side to go to work and came back right after. She didn't even work weekends anymore so that she could stay with Lucy. Minerva, Amelia, and Raj had started doing their paperwork by Lucy's bed. James, Lily, Sirius, Peter and Remus came by now and again to see how Lucy and the the other children were doing, Remus came the most often, but right now it was just the six of them around Lucy's bed.

Minerva sighed and looked down at Lucy's little hand in her's. "Oh, my darling," she whispered. "Please wake up. We all miss you and really want you to get better as soon as possible. Your birthday is coming up soon. Isn't that exciting, darling? Eight years old! You're growing up so so fast... I need you to be okay, my love. We all need you to be okay."

Lucy didn't move. Minerva listened to her soft breathing. It was still irregular, breaths getting stuck because of the burns inside her lungs. Minerva sighed again and looked away. She wished that there was more that she could do. She wished that she had been there when Trevor Kilian found the package so she could have stopped it.

"It'll be okay," Amelia whispered. "Horace will figure out the potion and she'll wake up. They all will."

Raj nodded. "Yes," he said. "Lucy's strong. She's survived so much. Nothing can hold her down for too long."

Minerva smiled a little. "Nothing can."

Raj sighed as he watched Lucy's chest go up and down irregularly and suddenly felt a terrible wave of deja vu. He had been here before, sitting beside the bed of a Collins who was having breathing problems. He had promised Jay that he would protect these children. He had promised that he would take care of them. How disappointed he would be to see Lucy like this. Raj had failed to keep his promise.

Amelia looked over at him and knew what he was thinking about. "Hey," she whispered. "This is not the same thing."

Minerva looked between them with confusion until she also realized what they were talking about. She shook her head quickly. "No," she said. "No, no, no. This isn't that. No. No, this is different." She felt her breathing quicken and tears fill her eyes. "No, she's not... it's not like that... it's not going to end like that."

"It's not. It's not," Amelia said quickly, putting a hand on Minerva's shoulder. "They will figure out the potion and they'll save her. This is not that."

Raj sighed. "After Jay was diagnosed," he mumbled, "both Daniel and Lucy were tested for cystic fibrosis too. Just to be safe. They had chest x-rays and blood tests. Lucy was very scared but Daniel was able to calm her down enough to get the tests done with."

Minerva covered her face with her hands. Amelia moved over and put an arm around her, pulling her into a hug. Minerva turned so she could hug Amelia properly. Amelia rubbed her arm soothingly.

"I want the results," Minerva said quietly, voice a little muffled by Amelia's clothes.

"They are fine, of course," Raj said. "They weren't both in a hospital bed when you came back were they?"

"A little insensitive, Raj," Amelia said, giving him a look.

"They were worried about Lucy though," he continued. "Lungs are one of the last things to develop in utero so because she was born early her lungs were very underdeveloped. She has an inhaler that she never uses."

"She needs an inhaler?" Minerva asked suddenly, pulling away from Amelia and looking at him with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? That's information that as her mother should know! Does she have it with her? Why doesn't she use it? Should she be using it?"

"She has it in case she needs it," Raj said. "She doesn't have to use it unless she needs it. I've made sure that she keeps it in her backpack with her at all times in case she needs it but she's embarrassed about it."

"Embarrassed," Minerva muttered with a shake of her head. She looked down at Lucy and sighed, taking her hand again. "You need to wake up, sweetheart. We have a lot of things to discuss."

"Way to motivate her," Amelia said with a smile.

Minerva gave her a look.

"These potions though," Raj said. "Maybe when they fix up her lungs, they'll make them stronger as well. Maybe we won't need to worry after that."

"That's true," Amelia said with a nod.

"I hope so," Minerva mumbled, though she doubted she would ever stop worrying about this child.

Just then the curtains around the bed shuffled and Dumbledore poked his head in. He gave her a small smile and she motioned him in. He closed the magical sound blocking curtains behind him and conjured up a chair for himself. He sat down and quietly, as to not wake Isobel, Nina and Daniel, said, "How are you three doing?"

"We're fine, Albus," Raj said. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," he said.

Minerva sighed. Minerva and Dumbledore's friendship had also begun to feel a bit of strain recently. As the days past, Minerva spent almost all her time in the Hospital Wing with Lucy and had been neglecting her Order mission. Meaning they were nowhere closer to figuring out who the spy in the Order was. Amelia had also been here so she wasn't helping out much either. Minerva had been doing all her work, preparing for the upcoming school year and increasing security measures from the Hospital Wing which made private meetings hard. Dumbledore needed her to help him come up with their next moves and to bounce ideas off her but he knew that Lucy was her biggest priority right now. He understood that and he would never say anything to her but he was starting to become frustrated. With her occupied he found himself having a lot more on his plate. The last time they had spoke had devolved into a childish yelling match where Minerva accused him of caring more about the spy in the Order than the safety of Hogwarts and he accused her of not taking the war seriously enough.

"Minerva," Dumbledore began but she put a hand up to stop him.

She shook her head and said, "No, it's my fault, Albus. You don't need to apologize. You're right. Figuring out who is feeding the Death Eaters all our information should be our top priority. I shouldn't be spending all my time sitting around. I also shouldn't have accused you of not caring about the safety of this castle. I am very sorry."

"No, I completely understand. I should not have accused you of not taking this seriously. I know that you yourself have witnessed the horrors of this war," he replied. "I apologize as well."

"Neither one of us are blameless in this, it seems," Minerva said with a small smile. He smiled a little as well.

"No, it seems we're not," Dumbledore said.

"Well, I'm glad you two have made up," Raj said. "Now is no time for mommy and daddy to be fighting, right Amelia?"

Amelia tried to keep a straight face but the corners of her mouth did twitch upwards. She shook her head at Raj. "You're terrible."

Minerva gave Raj a look but Dumbledore just chuckled. "Your humour has been very refreshing, Raj."

"I can't believe you still find it refreshing now," Amelia said. "Hasn't he been coming and going through your office? Aren't you annoyed of this man yet?"

"He's much better in small doses, I assure you, Albus," Minerva said.

"You two have zero faith in me," Raj said with a shake of his head. "Albus thoroughly enjoys my company and he appreciates my jokes far better than you two do."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "I do appreciate your jokes but now I would like to get serious, if that's alright."

"By all means," Raj said, motioning for him to continue.

"Great," he said. He looked over at Lucy, sighed and shook his head. "I believe that it may have been a Hogwarts student who brought the box here."

"A student?" Minerva exclaimed in a hushed tone.

Dumbledore nodded. "They most likely left it somewhere a child would find it before leaving on the train."

"A child of a Death Eater then?" Amelia asked.

He nodded. "Most likely."

Minerva sighed and rubbed her temple. "They're using children to carry out attacks on other children," she muttered. She reached over to the bedside table and opened the drawer. She pulled out a folder and handed it to Dumbledore. He took the folder and opened it up to look at the papers inside. "I don't know how they managed to get this object passed Alastor and the other guards but I've done some research and Eduardo Javier of El Salvador invented a new device called Probity Probe. It is a thin gold rod that detects spells of concealment and hidden magical objects. It's already in use at Gringotts Bank and all over America. I thought we could get one for Hogwarts as well."

Dumbledore nodded as he flipped through the academic papers on the Probity Probe. "I think that may be a good idea."

"I've got the address of where we can order them in there if you wanted to do it yourself. Though," she gave him a look, "I suppose you may just want me to do it."

He gave her a small smile. He was glad that she was talking to him like she used to again. He handed her the folder back to her. "I would very much appreciate it."

"Well, I'm glad you agreed," she said, taking the folder back and looking down at the photo of the Probity Probe. Raj held out his hand for it, wanting to see too, and Minerva handed it over. "Because I've already order three."

He raised an eyebrow at her, shook his head and smiled. "Of course you did."

"Three seems like a lot," Raj said.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Do we really need three?"

"One for the front gate, one for checking the mail, and one for the Entrance Hall," she replied with a sigh. "I know that it may ruffle some feathers, placing one at the entrance but I just want to be safe."

"I think it's a good idea," Amelia said with a nod, looking down at the picture of the probe in the folder on Raj's lap. "We don't want another incident like this."

"Very thorough," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Seems like you have everything covered without me."

"Should be here in time for the start of the semester," Minerva said, taking the folder back from Raj, throwing it back into the bedside table and closed the drawer. She then looked over at Nina and Daniel who were still asleep and sighed again. Nina was leaning her head on his shoulder and he was leaning his head on hers. They had made up after their last fight but it didn't feel like it was completely forgiven. "They've been fighting again."

Dumbledore sighed. "Tensions are running high," he said. "Everyone is on edge."

"I just wish the children would wake up," Amelia said with a sigh, looking over at Lucy now and pushing hair away from her face. "It would put everyone more at ease."

"Poppy and Horace will figure out an antidote," Dumbledore said reassuringly. "It just takes time."

"Her birthday is next month," Minerva whispered.

"She'll wake up in time," Raj said. "I know she will."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, they make me happy! :)


	28. TLT -- 28

_**July 1997**_

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Hello, Daniel, it's Raj."_

 _"Oh, hey, Uncle Raj. What's up?" Daniel said. He was a little disappointed that it hadn't been his father. Jay was very late and Daniel was starting to get a little worried._

 _"Bud, this is nothing to be alarmed about but your dad is in the hospital right now. He was having trouble breathing so we brought him to Victoria Hospital and now they want to keep him overnight just to make sure everything is alright," Raj said._

 _"What? Overnight? Why?" Daniel asked._

 _"Like I said, no need to worry. He had some tests. The results will come in tomorrow. They just want to keep him till then."_

 _"Well, Lucy and I are coming then. We should be there in about an hour."_

 _"No, no. Stay in Rochester," Raj said. "Your father doesn't want you to trouble yourself. Just stay home, he'll be back tomorrow."_

 _"No, we're coming," Daniel said forcefully. He wasn't going to let his father spend the night in the hospital all alone. "We'll see you soon, Uncle Raj."_

 _"Alright, Daniel," he said and Daniel could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll let your father know. He's not going to be very happy."_

 _"Ah, he'll get over it once we get there," Daniel said with a smile._

 _Raj laughed. They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Daniel looked over at Lucy who was still watching him._

 _"What's happened?" she asked with a worried look on his face._

 _"Dad's in the hospital. They had to do some test," he said, walking back over to the table and picking up their plates before heading back to the kitchen to put them away. "They have to keep him overnight until the results from his test come back tomorrow."_

 _"Is - is he okay?" Lucy asked quietly._

 _Daniel looked up at her. "I'm not sure, kid," he said honestly, "but Uncle Raj is there and he said that we shouldn't worry."_

 _Lucy didn't seem very convinced._

 _"Just go put on your shoes and coat. It'll be okay," Daniel said as he put their plates away in the dishwasher. "We're going to go to Victoria Hospital to see him."_

 _Lucy stared at him for a second, a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, before finally running off for the entrance. She put on her shoes and coat and Daniel came moments late to do the same. He grabbed his keys and the two of them headed out. They didn't talk much through the drive. Lucy's mind was in overdrive thinking about what could have happened. Terrible scenarios played out in her head. Car crashes, getting shot in an alley, poisoned food, falling out a window. Lucy did her best to push those thoughts out of her mind but they kept coming back. By the time they pulled into the Victoria Hospital parking lot, she was on the verge of tears._

 _Daniel got out of the car quickly and waited for her. She took his hand and they ran to the front desk. The woman told them that their father was on the third floor in room fourteen. Daniel pulled Lucy towards an elevator and took her upstairs. They made it to the door and walked in._

 _All the worry that Lucy felt lessened when she looked into the room and saw her father sitting on the bed wearing a hospital gown looking absolutely fine. Raj was sitting in a chair beside him and smiled when the children walked in._

 _"Daddy! What happened? You scared me!" Lucy exclaimed, running towards him and climbing onto the bed._

 _Jay laughed as Lucy collided into his chest and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back. "I'm okay. I'm sorry for scaring you."_

 _"Hey, Dad. Hey, Uncle Raj," Daniel said, walking over as well and sitting down on the foot of the bed. "What's going on? You were having breathing problems?"_

 _"I was," Jay says with a nod, smile fading away. "I came here and they did some tests. The results will be back tomorrow but they said that I had to stay here for the night. You two really didn't have to come all the way down here."_

 _"I told them to stay put but your children don't listen, Jay. What can I say?" Raj said with a smile._

 _"Nobody told me what was going on!" Lucy said with a frown. "I thought you might have gotten shot in an alleyway!"_

 _"Shot in an alleyway? Where would you get an idea like that?" Jay said with a laugh._

 _Daniel smiled. "Like Batman's parents, right Lucy?"_

 _"Yeah," Lucy replied, blushing a little bit. Jay laughed and pulled her into another hug._

 _Raj laughed too. "Well, your dad hasn't been shot," he said. "You don't have to worry about that."_

 _"Yes," Jay said with a smile. "Don't worry, Kitten. I'm okay."_

 _"Are you sure you're okay, Dad?" Daniel asked, still a little worried. Trouble breathing was a serious issue. "Are you still having problems breathing? Did they give you something?"_

 _"No, I'm fine now. They had me take some inhalers. It'll be fine, bud, don't worry," he said though this did not make Daniel's worry subside. "You both should go back home."_

 _"No," Lucy said. "We're going to stay with you! Right, Daniel?"_

 _Daniel smiled. "Yeah," he said. "I'm sure my friends will understand that I won't be able to hang out."_

 _"Anne won't mind," Lucy said with a smile. "She's very nice."_

 _"We'll stay," Daniel said with an air of finality. "That way we'll be here when your results come back."_

 _"There really isn't -"_

 _"And then tomorrow we can all go home together!" Lucy said. She looked over at Raj. "Uncle Raj can come too! Will you come with us, please Uncle?"_

 _"Of course," he said with a smile. He looked over at his friend. "I think you're out voted, Jay."_

 _"It seems I am," he said with a shake of his head though he was smiling. "As I no longer have a say on the matter, you both can stay."_

 _Lucy laughed. "Maybe we should have brought some games or something to do while we're here."_

 _"I saw a gift shop on the main floor," Daniel said. "You could probably find a deck of cards or something there."_

 _"There's also a television," Jay said, motioning at a screen a little ways away. "If you want to watch something. Oh, have you two had dinner?"_

 _"Yeah, we just ate when Uncle Raj call," Daniel said. "So, what do you want to do, Lucy? Cards or tv?"_

 _"Let's play cards!" Lucy said._

 _"Okay, I'll go buy a deck," Daniel said. "Have you eaten yet, Dad? I could buy you something from the cafeteria while I'm down there."_

 _"No, I've eaten. Thank you though, Daniel," he said with a smile._

 _"Alright, I'll be right back," he said as he walked towards the door._

 _When he was gone, Raj motioned for Lucy to come over. She climbed off the bed and he picked her up into his lap, giving her a hug._

 _"So, how was her highness's day today?" he asked._

 _"It was okay," Lucy said. "I went to Anne's house and we went to the park."_

 _"That sounds fun," Raj said with a smile._

 _Lucy nodded before sighing and leaning her head back on Raj's chest. "I don't like hospitals."_

 _"Nor do I," Jay said._

 _"I don't think anyone really likes them," Raj said, giving Lucy a little squeeze. "It'll be okay."_

 _"Yes, we'll be out of here tomorrow," Jay said with a smile._

 _"Maybe tomorrow when your father gets out of the hospital we can all do something fun here in London," Raj said._

 _"Yeah!" Lucy said happily. "Can we, Daddy?"_

 _"Of course, Kitten," Jay said with a smile. "What would you like to do?"_

 _"Hmm," she mumbled thoughtfully. She looked up at her uncle for help._

 _"Maybe we could go to Buckingham Palace," he suggested._

 _"Yeah! And we can see where real princesses live!" Lucy said excitedly._

 _Raj laughed. "What do you mean real princesses?" he asked. "I'm looking at a real princess right now!"_

 _"I'm not a real real princess," Lucy said with a giggle. "I'm just Lucy."_

 _"Well, just Lucy, I think that you're more than that," Raj said._

 _"Definitely more than that," Jay said with a smile._

 _"I don't know about that," Lucy said with a laugh._

 _Daniel came back a little while later with a deck of cards in hand. Lucy moved back to sit on the bed next to her father and they started their game. They played cards for a while before Lucy started getting very tired. Her eyelids drooped but she did her best to keep herself awake. Jay saw her head lean forward a bit before suddenly flinging back up._

 _"I think it's time for bed," he said, putting down the cards in his hand._

 _"No, I'm not tired," she said looking down at her cards. "Do you have any twos?"_

 _"Lucy," Jay said, pulling her close and picking her up into his arms. He took her cards from her and held them and his own out towards Daniel._

 _Daniel took the cards from his father and added them and his own back to the deck. Raj also handed his own hand over and looked at his watch._

 _"It is quite late," he said._

 _Lucy sighed but wrapped her arms around Jay's neck and closed her eyes. Jay smiled and kissed her cheek, rocking her gently._

 _"You should head home, Raj," he said quietly, looking over at his friend. "Thank you for everything today."_

 _"Are you sure?" Raj asked. "I can stay the night if you'd like."_

 _"No, no. You don't have to do that," Jay said._

 _"Alright," Raj said getting up. "But I'll be back early tomorrow morning to make sure everything's okay."_

 _Jay agreed and Raj said his goodbyes before heading for the door. Jay set the now sleeping Lucy gently down beside him on the bed and pulled the blankets over her. He looked back at Daniel and sighed._

 _"Are you going to be okay on a chair? I wish the bed was bigger," he said. "Maybe we can ask them to bring another bed in."_

 _"I'll be fine," Daniel said, a little absentmindedly. He looked at Lucy to make sure she was fast asleep before turning back to his father. "While I was out buying the cards, I talked to some of the nurses."_

 _Jay closed his eyes and shook his head. "They probably made it sound a lot worse than it actually was."_

 _"They said you came here in an ambulance," he said, furrowing his brow. "You didn't tell us that part. When you said breathing problems I didn't think you meant that you stopped breathing all together and collapsed in a meeting."_

 _"It wasn't that bad, Daniel. You don't have to worry about it right now."_

 _"Dad, they're testing you for something called cystic fibrosis," Daniel continued forcefully, wanting his father to take this seriously. "If you have it you might need to stay in the hospital and wait to get a lung transplant!"_

 _"I know," he said, looking down at Lucy and sighing again. "Daniel, if that happens... I'm most likely going to need you to take on more responsibility at home. I know you're already doing a lot, picking up Lucy from school, putting off going out with friends until I get home so that there's always someone to look after her... but..."_

 _"I can handle it," Daniel said. "Don't worry about that. Just focus on getting better."_

 _Jay smiled. "Thank you, jaanu."_

 _..._

 _Lucy was awoken by strange sounds coming from beside her on the bed. She rubbed her eyes and looked over to see what it was. Jay was lying asleep beside her but his breathing was coming out very strange. It sounded very difficult and forced._

 _"Daddy! Wake up!" she exclaimed in a very scared voice but he didn't wake up. She shook him. "Please wake up!"_

 _Again he didn't wake up. Lucy looked around and saw Daniel asleep on a hospital chair. "Daniel! Daniel, wake up!" she called as she moved and found the call button for the nurse. She pressed it while Daniel opened his eyes and looked around groggily. "Daniel, something's wrong!"_

 _Daniel stood up quickly as the door opened and nurses flooded in. He grabbed Lucy and pulled her off the bed so that the nurses could do their job. He moved to the corner of the room, Lucy in his arms. One of the nurses came over._

 _"The doctor has been called. He'll be here soon," she said. "You should wait outside in the waiting room until he gets here."_

 _"But -"_

 _"No, Lucy," Daniel said, taking one last look at his father before turning to leave the room. "We need to give the nurses space to work."_

 _Lucy stared at her father on the bed for as long as she could before Daniel turned the corner, pulling her out of view. They sat down in the waiting room chairs. Daniel told her to go back to sleep but she didn't want to sleep anymore. She wanted to wait and make sure Jay was okay first before she could sleep._

 _Eventually though, she was too tired to stay awake. She fell asleep in the chair. Daniel put his coat over her like a blanket and waited for news. The doctor finally came while Lucy was still sleeping. Quietly, as not to wake the sleeping girl, Dr. Gardner told Daniel that Jay was fine now. He had a fluid buildup in his lungs but they were able to treat it successfully. They were doing some more tests but by the looks of it Jay was not going to be able to go home anytime soon. He would be moved to the ICU until further notice._

 _When the doctor left, Daniel flopped back down in his seat and put his head in his hands. He cried for what felt like hours. He didn't know what they were going to do. He needed his dad to be okay and to come home. He didn't know how to deal with hospitals and doctors. He didn't know how to take care of a little girl. He looked over at Lucy, who was thankfully still asleep. He wiped his eyes and sighed. He had to pull himself together and be strong, at least for right now. He had to be strong for his sister, for his father, and for himself._

 _Daniel pushed himself up out of his chair so he could walk over to the phone nearby. He picked it up and started dialing. The phone rang a few times before a very groggy voice came through the other end._

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Uncle Raj, it's Daniel," he said after taking a deep breath to calm himself a bit._

 _"Daniel? What is it? Is everything okay?" Raj said, suddenly sounding a lot more awake. He knew that if Daniel was calling him this late at night, it couldn't mean anything good._

 _"No," Daniel mumbled. "Dad... he - he had fluid build up in his lungs and now he has to stay in the ICU and he won't be able to go home anytime soon."_

 _"Oh god," Raj said. "Alright, I'm on my way, bud. I'll be there soon, okay? Are you and Lucy still in the hospital? Where is she?"_

 _"Yeah, we're still here," he said. "Lucy fell asleep while we were waiting for news. I still haven't told her what's going on. I just found out."_

 _"Okay, I'm coming. Just sit tight, bud. Maybe try to get some sleep as well."_

 _Daniel and Raj said goodbye before hanging up. Daniel looked back at Lucy to make sure that she hadn't woken up yet. She was still sound asleep thankfully. He walked over and sat back down next to her, leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes. He tried to get some rest like Raj had told him but he just couldn't. He was still worried about his father. He just wanted to see him but they wouldn't let him._

 _Raj arrived with breakfast for the three of them. He sat down next to Daniel, gave him a hug, and told him that it was going to be okay. Daniel told him everything the doctors had told him and Raj made him eat some breakfast._

 _Lucy woke up a little while later. She looked around confused for a second before remembering where she was. She saw Daniel sitting beside her talking quietly to Raj. She reached out and pulled his sleeve. "D-Daniel?"_

 _He looked over at her and gave her a small smile. "You're awake. Hey."_

 _"What happened? Is Dad okay?" she said a little frantically. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, I'm sorry."_

 _"Don't worry, Princess," Raj said soothingly. "He's okay."_

 _Daniel took his sister's hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Yeah, Dad's okay now," he said quietly, voice refusing to go past a certain volume, "but they need to do some more tests so we'll have to wait to see him. He's been moved to the sixth floor though. Uncle Raj brought breakfast. We can eat and then go up and wait up there, okay?"_

 _She looked at him for a minute, still in a sleepy daze, before nodding her head. She got up and walked around Daniel towards her uncle. Raj gave her a small smile and picked her up._

 _"It'll be okay, love," he said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He rubbed small circles on her back to try and calm her a little bit._

 _"It was so scary," she whispered. "He wouldn't wake up."_

 _"I know, I know but he's okay now," Raj said. "And when he's feeling a little better we can go see him." He looked over at Daniel. "He'll be okay. Just give it some time."_

 _Daniel nodded a little bit. Lucy let go of Raj and he handed her a breakfast sandwich. They ate for a while before going up the elevator to the sixth floor and sitting down in the waiting room up there._

 _Time passed very slowly with still no word on how their father was doing. Soon it was lunchtime and then dinner time. Finally Raj got up to see what was going on. Daniel went too, despite Raj's protests, leaving Lucy to sit alone in her chair and wait. She was leaning forwards slightly looking at the ground and clutching the seat of the chair in her tiny fists. Her feet didn't make it to the ground so she was swinging them back and forth while she waited for her brother and uncle to return. There was no one else in the waiting room other than her. Occasionally a nurse or doctor would pass by but none of them gave Lucy any attention. Too busy doing their jobs to worry about a little girl sitting in the waiting room._

 _Finally Daniel came back. He walked over to Lucy and sat down. Lucy didn't look at him. She kept staring at the floor in front of her as she asked, "Is he gonna be okay?"_

 _Daniel looked at her for a moment. He was only eighteen now and he had already taken on so much more responsibility since Minerva had left. He dropped off and picked up Lucy from school or ballet or Anne's. He looked after her when they were alone before their father came home. He didn't get to go anywhere or see his friends until their father got home from work because she was still too young to be left home alone. He didn't care though, he honestly didn't. He understood his responsibility as an older brother and he liked helping out his dad but sometimes... sometimes he just wanted to go out and hang out with his friends. Sometimes he wished that they could have a normal family. A family with a mom that would look after Lucy while Daniel acted like an actual teenager. Now they were moving even further away from normal. The doctors had told him that his father may have to stay in hospital for a while and even then they weren't sure how long he actually had. If something happened to Jay, he... he didn't know what they would do._

 _"I don't know," he said quietly. "Uncle Raj is talking to the doctors. He said he'll try to get them to let us see Dad."_

 _She didn't say anything but she reached over and took his hand. He sighed and gave her hand a squeeze. She leaned into him and he let go of her hand so he could put an arm around her instead. They sat there waiting for a while before finally Raj came back._

 _"I talked to the doctors," he said, walking over. He picked Lucy up, grabbed Daniel's coat from the chair, and handed it to him. "Jay's going to have to stay here a while but we can go see him now. I also called Maria. She's going to book a hotel for the two of you so that you can stay in London too. She'll get a hotel near the hospital. Daniel, your car is here, isn't it?"_

 _Daniel nodded. He was standing now as well._

 _"After we talk to Jay, you and Lucy go home, stay the night there and then tomorrow pack up your things. Maria will have the hotel booked for tomorrow and you two can drop off your bags before coming back here."_

 _Daniel nodded again, still not able to speak. Raj then turned and motioned for Daniel to follow. They walked through the cold, white hospital hallways until finally they reached Jay's room. They walked through the door and Raj put Lucy down. Lucy turned and looked over at her father lying on the bed and suddenly felt the weight of everything on her chest. She saw the wires that connected from him to the heart monitor and the IV drips. He looked so much weaker than he had ever looked before. She had never seen him like this before. She felt tears in her eyes. Lucy ran over to her father's bedside._

 _"Daddy?" she whispered._

 _He looked at her and gave her a small smile, reaching out a hand and cupping her cheek. "Hello, jaanu," he said quietly, sounding a little hoarse. "Don't worry, I'm okay."_

 _He didn't look okay. Lucy didn't believe that he was okay. Daniel didn't believe it either. He walked over to the bedside and Jay gave him a little smile too._

 _"It seems I may have to stay here for a little while," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. We won't be able to go to Buckingham Palace today."_

 _"I don't care about that," Lucy said._

 _"Yeah, just try to rest, Dad," Daniel said. "Get better soon."_

 _"When will you be able to come home?" Lucy whispered, tears overflowing now. She did her best not to look at the wires and the monitors. She looked down at her hands. "I want to go home, Daddy. When can we go home?"_

 _"I don't know, love," he said with a sigh. "But you and Daniel should go ho-"_

 _"I want you to come with us!"_

 _"I know, darling, I know," Jay said. "But right now I have to stay here."_

 _Raj told Jay everything that he had told Lucy and Daniel and Jay nodded, agreeing that a hotel was probably the best idea. They talked for a while before Raj put a hand on Daniel's shoulder and said, "why don't we give your father and sister a minute while we go talk in the hallway."_

 _Daniel looked at him for a second before nodding. Lucy looked up at him a little worried but he gave her a small smile and told her he'd just be a minute. Lucy watched them leave the room before turning back to her father, leaning against his bed and taking his hand with both of her little ones._

 _"Daddy, I don't want you to have to stay here," she whispered. "I want you to come home with us!"_

 _"I know, my love," Jay said, putting a hand on her cheek. "But listen, I'm going to try really hard and get better so I can come home as soon as possible, okay?"_

 _"Okay," Lucy said._

 _"That's what you did for me so I'm going to do it for you," he said with a smile._

 _"I did that?" Lucy asked._

 _He nodded. "When you were born, you were born early, and you had to stay in the hospital," he said, motioning for her to climb up on the bed. She did and he put an arm around her. "We were all so worried. Me, your mommy, Daniel. Everyone. We were all worried but you fought hard to get better and you did. Then we finally got to bring you home."_

 _"So I fought hard?" Lucy asked._

 _"Yes, you were so strong and we were so proud of you," he said with a smile._

 _"And you're going to fight hard too!" she said with a smile. "You're very strong too, Daddy."_

 _Jay smiled. "I will try my best, my darling."_

 _She got up on her knees and hugged him, kissing his cheek. "Please just get better soon," she whispered. "I just want to bring you home too."_

 _He kissed her too and hugged her tightly. "You're such a wonderful little girl, Lucy," he said. "I want to be home with you and Daniel so much. I just have to spend a little bit of time here so that I'll be able to do that."_

 _Lucy rested her head on Jay's shoulder, closed her eyes, and just hugged him tightly. She never wanted to let go._

 _"While I'm here, I want you to listen to your brother and your Uncle Raj, okay?" Jay said._

 _"Okay," Lucy said._

 _"Raj will take care of you both, I know he will," he continued. "He's a fixer."_

 _"What does that mean?" Lucy asked._

 _"It means when he sees a problem he has to try and fix," he replied. "He'll always do his best to fix any situation. Even if it's largely out of his control."_

 _..._

 _Out in the hallway Daniel and Raj stood opposite each other. Daniel crossed his arms and tried his best to avoid his uncle's gaze._

 _"Don't worry about all the medical stuff, bud," Raj said. "I'll handle it all that. If you can just make sure that Lucy is okay, that would be a great help to both me and Jay."_

 _"I can do the medical stuff too," Daniel said, looking up at Raj with a frown. "I can handle everything. I don't need help."_

 _"Daniel," Raj said softly. "You don't have to do everything."_

 _"I - I do. He's my dad. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that he's okay," Daniel said. "I'm going to drop out of Harvard. I'll take a year off, I guess, and take care of Lucy and Dad."_

 _"Daniel. Your father wouldn't want that."_

 _"I can't go to America now, Uncle Raj," Daniel said sadly._

 _"Listen, let me help you," he said, reaching out and taking Daniel's arms. "You don't have to do everything alone. The medical and insurance stuff can get a little confusing, I can help you get through it all. Maria can help too. She can make sure you get everything you need, hotel rooms, groceries, everything. You have her number too, right?"_

 _Daniel nodded._

 _"Good," Raj said. "Now, you may not be able to go to Harvard this year but you don't have to take the year off. Jay wouldn't want that."_

 _"But all the deadlines for everything else have past," Daniel said._

 _"I have some connections down at the University of Kent. It's no Harvard but it's still a good school and it's not too far from Rochester," Raj replied. "I'll call them. They can set up a meeting with you and the Dean of Admissions. If you explain the circumstances, I'm sure he'll make an exception for you. You can do a year of business there and then hopefully Jay gets better and if you'd like, you can transfer over to Harvard the year after. Does that sound okay?"_

 _Daniel thought about this for a second before finally nodding his head. "Okay," he said. "Thank you, Uncle Raj."_

 _"Of course, bud," Raj said with a small smile. "Like I said. You don't have to do all this alone. If you need anything, anything at all, you call me or Maria, okay? We are always willing to help. I'll take care of anything that may come up at Collins Enterprises and help with the doctors and anything else you might need, alright?"_

 _Daniel nodded his head and thanked Raj again._

 _Raj smiled. "Now, get going. It'll be quite late by the time you get back to Rochester," he said. "Maria will call you in the morning."_

 _"Alright," Daniel said with a nod._

 _They went back inside, talked with Jay for a minute longer before heading out again. Raj picked Lucy up and carried her down to the parking lot. He was just walking them down to the car and then he would go back up and stay with Jay for a little while longer. When they made it to the car, he put Lucy down and opened the backdoor for her. She hopped in and he helped her put her seatbelt on._

 _"Goodbye, Uncle Raj," Daniel said, giving his uncle a quick hug before opening the driver's side door and getting in. "Thank you for everything."_

 _"Of course. Anytime either of you need anything you just call me," he said with a smile. He looked over at Lucy. "That's you too, Princess, okay?"_

 _"Okay," Lucy said softly, giving him a little wave. "Bye bye, Uncle Raj."_

 _"Goodbye, darling," he said before closing her door. He looked back at his godson and smiled. "Goodbye, Daniel. Drive safe."_

 _Daniel nodded. "Goodbye," he said. He closed the door and started the engine. He pulled out of the parking lot and got on to the highway so that they could drive home. Daniel looked at Lucy through the rearview mirror and gave her a little smile._

 _"It'll be okay, kid," he said. "Dad will be okay."_

 _Lucy didn't say anything. She turned and looked out the window, not wanting Daniel to see her cry. It felt like one by one everyone was leaving her. Her mother was gone, she hadn't seen her grandmother or aunts and uncles in a long time, and now her father had to stay in the hospital in London. Everything was getting worse. Nothing was getting better and it didn't feel like it was going to be okay. All she wanted was for everything to be okay but it didn't feel like that was going to happen anytime soon._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday, July 6th 1999**_

"I've told you what I think," Daniel said angrily. "You don't want to hear it so stop asking me to tell you again!"

"I'm trying to have an adult conversation with you!" Nina said, sounding like she was trying very hard to keep her voice at a normal volume. It wasn't working well. "Why can't you just talk to me like an adult? Why do you have to act so -"

"Alright, that's enough," Isobel said, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow at them. "You two need to calm down. We have bigger things to worry about right now. What we will do when Lucy wakes up is something we can discuss when the time comes."

Daniel looked at her and then down at Lucy. His anger bubbled inside him as he saw the state of his sister. "I want to find out who did this," he said dangerously. "I want them found and I want them to pay!"

"Daniel," Minerva said softly. "Please try to -"

"No," he said. "It's been two weeks and she still hasn't woken up! She looks horrible and she still isn't breathing properly! Nothing they do is working and I want to know who the motherfucker was that did this to her!"

"Again, adult conversa-"

"Shut up, Nina!" Daniel yelled. "My baby sister is dying and all you fucking care about is having an adult conversation!"

"She's not dying," Isobel said quickly. "She's going to wake up. She's going to be okay."

"Horace and Poppy are working very hard to find the antidote," Minerva said. "They'll find one and she'll be okay."

"And what if they don't?!" Daniel yelled. "What if... what if they don't..." Suddenly tears filled his eyes. "I can't... I can't do this again... she's not even awake... I can't..."

"Daniel," Nina said softly, anger fading away. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't the same thing. You heard Uncle Raj. This isn't the same thing."

"It's not," Minerva said forcefully. "This is not the end, Daniel. It's not like -"

"Shut up," Daniel said, anger returning as tears fell down his cheeks. "You don't even know! You weren't there! How could you know that this isn't the same thing?!"

"Daniel," Isobel said. "I know you're angry but -"

"I don't want to hear it," he said. He looked at Lucy and shook his head. "I need to not be here right now. I need... I need to go... find me when Uncle Raj gets back."

With that he went through the curtains and raced out of the Hospital Wing. It just felt too similar and he couldn't do it again. Nina sighed and shook her head. She looked back at Minerva and Isobel with an apologetic look.

"He doesn't mean that," she said softly. "He's just upset so he's saying things he doesn't mean. It's just really hard... this feels too similar to last time."

Minerva took a deep, shaky breath and buried her face in her hands. She knew Daniel was just angry but his words still hurt. Isobel sighed and put an arm around her. Nina sighed again too and looked back out at the curtain Daniel had just gone through.

"I should go after him," she whispered. She didn't wait for a response. She walked through the curtain and headed out of the Hospital Wing too.

Isobel pulled Minerva closer and hugged her tightly. "This isn't the same," she whispered. "They are going to save her. He didn't mean what he said. Daniel will cool off and he'll feel horrible for what he said, you know he will."

Minerva nodded a little bit into her mother's chest. Isobel looked down at Lucy and really hoped that she woke up soon. She hoped all the children did. She was sure when they did tensions would ease and everyone would be able to relax.

Eventually Minerva calmed down a bit. She pulled away from her mother and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. She looked down at Lucy, fixed some blankets on her bed and brushed some hair away from her face before turning to her papers to get some work done. Isobel watched her and suggested she take a break but Minerva refused. She had a lot of work to do and she didn't have time for breaks.

She worked for a while and eventually Isobel got up to go take a nap in an actual bed. She was too old to be sleeping on uncomfortable Hogwarts chairs every night. Minerva told her that she could use her bedroom. Daniel and Nina still hadn't come back and Isobel was beginning to worry about where they may have wound up. She would take a quick look around before heading to bed.

A little while after Isobel left the curtains moved again and in walked Raj with his briefcase in his hand. He looked at her and gave her a little smile. "All alone today?"

Minerva sighed. "Daniel and Nina had another fight and then Daniel burst into tears, convinced Lucy wasn't going to wake up," she said. "Mother and I tried to tell him that this wasn't the same as last time but he told us that we couldn't possibly know because we weren't there."

Raj sighed and set his briefcase down. He pulled a chair over to her and sat down. "He doesn't mean that," he said. "Daniel's forgiven you. He's just under a lot of pressure again and his mind keeps wandering back to that."

"I know," Minerva said a sigh. "I know."

"He'll be okay."

"I know."

Raj gave her a little smiled and then pulled his chair up closer to the bed. He took Lucy's hand and smiled at her. "Hello, Princess," he said. "Just got in, hope you didn't miss me too much while I was gone. Work's been pretty busy, you know, but I refused to work late so I could come see you of course."

Minerva smiled a little as she watched Raj talk to Lucy about his day. She was glad he was here. Talking to Lucy like this, holding her hand, keeping her in the loop made Minerva feel a little bit better. It was one thing to say that you hope that things will get better and another to show that you knew they would. Raj was good at showing her that things would get better. He helped Minerva believe herself that things would get better.

"Oh, you know who called me today?" Raj said. "Anne Linwood. She said that you said that she could call me if she wanted to get a message to you at Hogwarts. I guess you must have told her about everything."

"Took a lot more time than I thought it would," Minerva said with a little smile.

"I agree," Raj said with a laugh, looking back at her. "Maybe Lucy's getting better at keeping a secret."

"Maybe," Minerva said, though she didn't think that was very true.

Raj turned back to Lucy. "So, anyways, she's been wondering where you were. Said that you said you'd come down to see her during the summer but she still didn't know when," he said. "I told her that you weren't feeling well and had to stay in the hospital for a little while but hopefully you'll be able to see her soon. She said to get well soon. She said she would send a get well soon card to Collins Enterprises for me to bring to you."

Minerva smiled. "That's very nice of her."

"Yes," Raj said with a nod. "I told her that I would make sure you got it. Other than the call from Anne, my day was pretty boring. Meetings, papers, you know how it is. Same old, same old. Thank you for listening, Lucy. I'm going to talk to your mother now, okay?"

He took her silence as a yes and pushed his chair back a little so that he could look at Minerva as well. "So, how was your day?"

"I've been here all day. Daniel and Nina stormed off a little after lunch and Mother went up for a nap. I'm getting a little worried about her. She's not getting enough sleep and her neck is starting to ache because of falling asleep on these chairs. She's taking a nap in my bed so hopefully she'll be okay soon as well," Minerva said. "Oh, Daniel wanted to speak to you. Asked to be told when you arrived."

Raj nodded. "I'll go find him in a minute," he said. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about though."

"Oh?"

"Has Amelia talked to you about Alastor Moody?"

Minerva sighed and nodded. "The Dorcas thing?"

He nodded.

"Yes," she said. "I've felt the same way whenever he talks about her. Did you know that he's also started talking about Lucy like that too? It makes me sick whenever he brings her up around me. I hate it so much but he doesn't seem to care."

"I know, Amelia told me," he said with a nod. "Have you told Albus? I'm just worried about him finding out about the prophecy and trying something stupid."

"I have not but I will talk to him. That's a good point," Minerva said. "Albus has no plans to tell anyone about the prophecy yet but I will ask he tell me when he plans to do that."

Raj nodded.

"That's all?" Minerva asked, a small smile gracing her lips. "That's the only thing about Alastor Moody that you wanted to talk about?"

"Well... yes," he said. "I didn't think there was anything else important about what Amelia told me about him."

"Nothing else?" Minerva asked. "Nothing else at all?"

"Nope," Raj said with a shake of his head. "I can't think of anything else."

"Alright," Minerva said. "Well, I can."

"I should really go find Daniel."

"He can wait another minute," Minerva said dismissively. "Something else important that I picked up in my conversation with Amelia about Alastor was that she was now realizing that he wasn't the greatest person."

"She may have mentioned that, yes," Raj said, a little uncomfortably. "I don't know why that is very important though."

"She's realizing he doesn't feel things for others the way that a lot of other people do," Minerva said. "For his co-workers. For his friends. For her."

Raj didn't say anything.

"Her crush is over, Raj," she said with a small smile. "She's over Alastor Moody, just like I said she would be. She doesn't love him. She loves you. She thinks that you are a much nicer and kinder person and she admires you a great deal for everything you've done."

"Minerva, you're reading too far -"

"No, I'm not," Minerva said. "I have eyes, Raj. I'm here while you two are. I can see the way you look at each other, the way you speak to each other, the way you have silent conversations with your eyes. I see it all."

"Uh huh."

"She said you acted strange on the call she told you about Alastor," she said. "That it sounded like you wanted to say something but then you did."

"Wow, okay. You two really do tell each other everything," Raj said with a shake of his head.

"Yes, everything," Minerva said with a smile. "I deduce that you wanted to tell her that you loved her but you didn't because you thought it was too soon."

"I deduce that you're crazy," he said. He looked over at Lucy. "I wonder if she can hear this conversation."

"God, I hope not," Minerva said with a little laugh. "Some of the language used around her bed hasn't been the most appropriate. Maybe talk to Daniel about that when you talk to him as well. I know she's asleep but he still shouldn't be using that kind of language around her."

Raj laughed and shook his head. He was not going to apprehend Daniel for using foul language. Daniel was an adult and at full liberty to use whatever words he needed to to express how he felt. He did, however, take this as an exit.

"I'll let him know," he said, getting up out of his seat and walking towards the curtains. "I'll go talk to him."

"And Amelia will be back tonight as always. You can talk -"

"Sorry, what? Can't hear you..." he said, playing around with the curtain. He could hear her absolutely fine, he wasn't out of the curtain yet.

"Raj."

"Soundproof curtains sorry... what was that? I'm gonna go..."

"Raj."

"Oh, was that a goodbye?"

"Raj."

"Bye, Minerva," he said, going through the curtain and closing it behind him.

Minerva shook her head. She looked back at Lucy and said, "Your uncle is a child."

...

Raj smiled to himself as he closed the curtain and walked out of the Hospital Wing. He wasn't exactly sure where to start looking for Daniel so he just decided to go in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Maybe he was up in Minerva's office. He asked a few people but nobody knew where the boy had gotten off to.

Raj walked into Minerva's office to find nobody. He sighed and opened the secret door to look in the sitting room. He found Daniel and Nina sitting on the couch, faces pressed together. He raised an eyebrow at them.

"Ah hum," he said.

Nina opened her eyes and and saw him. Her eyes went wide and she pulled away from Daniel quickly, taking his hands away from her shirt. Daniel looked around and saw his uncle. His face went a little red and he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Hey, Uncle Raj."

"So, it seems you two have gotten over your little spat. That's good," he said with a little smile. "Might I suggest doing so in non-common areas next time, however."

"Sorry," Nina said, looking down. Her cheeks were very red.

"That's alright," Raj said. "Ah, Daniel, Minerva said that you wanted to talk to me."

"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to know when you got here," Daniel said. "It's not a big deal, don't worry about it."

"Oh, well, I would like to talk to you," he said, walking towards the couch.

Nina stood up quickly. "I'll go check on Min and Lucy," she said. "And let you two have some privacy."

"Thank you, Nina," Raj said as he sat down in an armchair. Nina gave him a small smile and nodded before leaving the room quickly. When she was gone, Raj looked back at Daniel and gave him a little smile. "You realize Isobel is just in there, right?"

"What? Is she?" Daniel asked, looking towards Minerva's bedroom door.

"Yes. Wasn't feeling well so decided to have a little bit of a lie down," he said with a nod.

"Well, we weren't doing anything that bad," Daniel said, a sheepish smile coming onto his face. "Nothing to offend her sensibilities too much."

Raj smiled a little and shook his head. Then his smile faded and he sighed. "Daniel, I know it's hard right now," he said. "I know that this feels a lot like how it did when your father was in the hospital but we can't let the past make us give up hope for the future. Lucy will wake up. She will. I promise you she will."

"Uncle Raj... I don't like it when you make promises like that," he said quietly. "Those are promises that you can't be sure you can keep so I would prefer you just didn't."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Raj said. "I understand. I can't promise anything but I can tell you that I truly do believe that Poppy and Horace will come up with an antidote and fix all the children affected. I really do and I wish you did too."

"It's hard to hope for something when the last time you hoped for something similar it didn't happen," Daniel muttered.

"I know," Raj said with a sigh, putting his hand on Daniel's arm. "We'll get through this, Daniel. I know we will. We've gotten through it before and we'll do it again."

"I don't want to do it again!" Daniel exclaimed, tears filling his eyes. "It's not fair, Uncle Raj! I - I already did it once and it sucked and it almost killed me. I shouldn't have to do it again! I shouldn't have had to do it the first time."

"I know, you're right. It's not fair," Raj said with a sigh. "None of this is fair and I wish I could make it all better but I can't. No one can. What I can do is try to make it a little easier. Sometimes you need a break. It's understandable. You can't sit at her bedside twenty four seven, it'll drive you mad. I understand that. I think that's part of your's and Nina's problem right now. Why don't you two spend the night here in your room. Sleep on an actual bed, take care of yourself, and then tomorrow it might be a little easier to sit by her bedside and let her know that you believe she will get better."

"I - I wish I could just sit there all the time like Min but... I'm so tired, Uncle Raj. I'm just so tired of hospitals and hospital beds," he whispered. "I'm just so tired."

"I know. It's okay," he said. "To be honest, I don't think what Minerva is doing is very healthy. I think it's okay to need a break. Remember how much easier it became to come down to the hospital to see your father when school started again? When you had a distraction for a part of your day that forced you not to think about everything for a little while? Especially after the summer of constantly sitting by his bedside."

Daniel nodded a little bit. "You're right," he said softly. "You're always right."

Raj smiled. "Not always," he said, "but most of the time, yes."

Daniel laughed and shoved him a little. He wiped the tears from his face and sighed. "I don't really like it when you're right."

Raj laughed and stood up. He clapped Daniel on the shoulder and said, "go get some sleep, Daniel. I'll send Nina up as well."

"Thank you," he said, getting up too.

Raj smiled as he watched Daniel walk to his bedroom and close the door. He walked out of Minerva's private rooms and back down to the Hospital Wing. When he made it down there he saw that Amelia had also arrived now. He told Nina to go be with Daniel and then sat down at a chair beside the bed again.

Amelia was sitting on the opposite side as him and Minerva, right up next to the bed, putting a load of tiny braids in Lucy's hair. "Her hair is so long."

"Hates cutting it," Minerva said absentmindedly, not looking up from her papers. "Even a trim is a momentous occasion."

"She likes it long," Raj said with a smile. "Like Wonder Woman."

"Ah, I see," Amelia said with a smile as she put a small bead at the end of the braid she had just finished and started on a new one. "Wonder Woman does have beautiful hair from the photographs I've seen."

"She does," Raj said. "So, how was your day, Amelia?"

"Eh, busy, like always," she said. "Same old, same old. Alastor has warned me that I may get called in in the middle of the night again, however, as they're having another raid tonight so that's something to look forward too, I suppose..."

Raj smiled. "Yes," he said. "It sounds like you are very much looking forward to it."

"I don't have time for your sarcasm right now, Patil," she said.

"Oh, yes, I can see you're very busy right now."

"I am. These braids are not going to make themselves, now are they?"

"Couldn't they? You're a witch, are you not?"

Amelia gave him a look before looking back down and continuing her braid. "An important task such as this requires the graceful touch of a loving godmother," she said. "You wouldn't understand, of course, as you are neither graceful nor a godmother."

"Right," Raj said with a laugh.

"You two really need to get a room," Minerva muttered, still not looking up from her work.

Raj looked over at her for a second. He watched her write with her quill and, as soon as she lifted it up, he snatched the papers from the table in front of her. She looked up quickly and glared at him.

"Give them back, Raj," she said, holding out a hand expectantly.

"Nope, you have been working all day. You need a break," he said. "It's almost dinner time and your dearest friend is here. You should take a break." He looked at Amelia. "Oh, also, Amelia's here too."

Amelia gave him a look. "Since when have you become her dearest friend?"

"Raj, I have a lot of important work to do and I really don't have time -"

"I'm just asking for until after dinner," he said. "As soon as we finish eating you can have your papers back. Until then, give us the courtesy of your full, undivided attention."

Minerva glared at him. Her hand twitched for her wand and she went to pick it up when Amelia spoke. "Minerva, just humour him," she said. "It will be much less painful."

Minerva looked between them and shook her head. "You two don't understand," she mumbled, looking away. "You're here only about half the day. You don't understand. I need to keep doing work. I need to not think about what's happened to my baby for a little while. I need to focus on stopping the people who did this to her."

"This isn't healthy," Raj said. "You're going to work yourself to death. You need to take a break and relax. Maybe you should go take a nap as well. Have a House Elf pull out a cot for you and relax on an actual bed."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I can't leave. What if something happens? I can't leave."

Amelia sighed. She put a bead at the end of this braid as well. "I know it's hard, Minerva," she said softly, "but you're going to be no help to Lucy if you're not taking care of yourself."

Minerva had heard these words before. She pushed the table in front of her away and pulled her chair closer to the bed. She leaned forward and put her hand on Lucy's cheek as Amelia started another braid.

"I feel like I'm back at St. Mary's Hospital," Minerva mumbled.

Amelia sighed. "I know," she said. "She got better then and she'll get better now."

"It's different now," Minerva mumbled. It was so different now. She had much more support before. She wished it was more like then. She wished her husband was here. That's what she needed right now. That's who she needed right now.

Amelia sighed again. "Help me with these," she said. She picked up some beads and held them out for her. "It'll help take your mind off it."

Minerva looked at her for a second before sighing and taking the beads from her. She took a section of Lucy's hair and got to work. Amelia smiled before getting back to work on her own braid. She looked at Raj and gave him a smile.

"Would you like to help too, Raj?" she asked.

"I don't think so, Amelia," he said with a laugh and a shake of his head, tossing Minerva's papers back onto the table. "I would only mess up her hair. I've tried to do a braid in her hair before and we ended up needing to wait for Nina to come home and fix it for her before she would leave the house."

Amelia laughed. "Come here," she said, motioning him over. "I'll teach you. It'll be fine."

"Worse comes to worse, we can always just redo the ones you do," Minerva said with a small smile.

Raj gave her a look. He rolled his eyes but stood up and walked around the bed. He pulled a chair up beside Amelia. She sectioned off some hair for him and told him to divide it into three equal parts. She taught him how to braid by showing him hers. She laughed when he forgot which strand he had used last or chided him for not pulling tight enough.

"I am pulling tightly! I don't want to rip the hair right out of the girl's head!" he exclaimed making Minerva and Amelia laugh.

"You're not going to rip her hair out," Amelia said. "Just pull a little tighter so that you get a nice, smooth braid like this."

She showed him her braid so he could get the idea. He made a face and undid his braid so he could try again. Minerva smiled and brushed Lucy's hair out of her face.

"I wish you were awake to see your Uncle Raj get more and more frustrated with your hair," she said quietly. "I'll make sure he doesn't pull your hair out, don't worry."

Raj gave her a look and she laughed a little. He shook his head though he smiled a little bit. He was glad that Minerva was feeling a little better, he was glad that Amelia was here, and he was glad Daniel and Nina were getting a little bit of a break.

* * *

 ** _Friday, July 9th 1999_**

"You know it's alright to take a break every once in a while," Raj said, walking through the curtain around Lucy's bed and seeing Minerva sitting there all alone.

"I have a lot of work to do, Raj. I can't afford any breaks," Minerva replied, already sounding annoyed. If one more person came to her talking about breaks she was surely going to kill them. Or at the very least hex them.

"Not from work. From this," he said, motioning to Lucy's bed as he sat down in his usual chair beside hers. "Everyone else takes some time away to decompress every once in a while. You should do the same."

Minerva looked up at him and frowned. "Though you all may disagree," she muttered almost vemenously, "I do not consider my daughter a difficulty I need a break from."

Raj sighed as she turned back to her papers. "You know that's not what I'm saying," he said softly. "It's hard to sit here at her bedside constantly. It's okay to feel overwhelmed and decide to take a little bit of time just to let yourself organize your thoughts before coming back and sitting here again. Just like the first time, in St. Mary's."

"The fact that there have been multiple times is cruel."

"I know."

"I've been thinking about these things more and more lately," she mumbled, still looking down at her papers but quil no longer moving. "As the war got worse and worse."

"What things?" he asked, watching her carefully.

"Faith. God. Belief," she muttered. "Jay always said I had a lot of faith but now that I think back on it, I don't think I ever did."

"Wasn't your father a preacher?"

She looked up and gave him a look before sighing and shaking her head. "My father, though very good at making his congregants believe, was not very good at making his daughter believe."

"I realize I don't know much about your father."

"By design, I admit. I avoid talking about him as much as possible."

"I don't think anyone in your family really does," Raj said.

"He was not a very... warm man," she muttered. "Malcolm was his favourite, not that it mattered much. He still felt the same cold bluntness that the rest of us did."

"Why was he the favourite?" Raj asked.

Minerva shrugged. "Eldest son, I suppose," she said. "Then he chose a Muggle career and one of faith as well. That made Father very happy until he actually went to one of Malcolm's sermons. Malcolm is a lot more progressive and tolerant than he was. Father didn't like the ideas that he preached and he didn't hide his disappointment either. Again, very blunt."

Raj sighed.

"Robert and I were disappointments from the very beginning. First I was born a girl, the first horrible sin I committed."

"How horrible of you," Raj muttered.

"I know," she said. "Magic didn't help of course. It only made things worse. You should have seen the disappointed look that always came over his face whenever magic was mentioned. Mother and I are good at doing things the Muggle way because we couldn't do magic out in the open at home."

"Really?" Raj asked. "He didn't like magic?"

Minerva sighed. "He didn't like much of anything but, yes, magic especially. Thought it was abnormal. I remember him calling us freakish on multiple occasions," she said. "He wasn't the greatest man in general, honestly. I don't know why my mother stayed with him."

"I'm sorry I brought him up," he said.

"No, that's alright. You of all people would understand horrible fathers," Minerva said. "Though he wasn't that bad. He never threatened to hit any of us. He was just not a very happy person. He had a lot of hatred in his heart. For magic. For the world. For anyone who didn't think or look like he did." She looked over at Lucy and sighed, taking one of her hands in hers. "I don't think he would like the fact that I married Jay or that we had Lucy very much."

"Racist?"

"Definitely," Minerva muttered. "Racist, misogynist, overall angry person."

"Isobel is nothing like that," Raj said. "She's such a loving, compassionate person. She loved Jay and she loves Lucy and Daniel."

Minerva nodded. "She's almost his exact opposite," she said. "She's such a wonderful person. The strongest person I've ever known. I don't know why she stayed with him but she did. He didn't let her work despite all the job offers she got after she graduated Hogwarts. She had to lock her wand away under her bed and I had to help her cover up any of Malcolm or Robert's accidental magic when they were younger. I used to be so mad at her for making me do that. For putting that pressure on me. For crying when I got my Hogwarts letter, not because she was proud but, I thought, because she was jealous."

"Was she?"

"Maybe a little but I don't blame her anymore," Minerva said. "I think she was happy I was getting away from home. It was a toxic place to be for everyone. I honestly think that if it wasn't for the amount of love she had for everyone and everything Malcolm, Robert and I might have turned out like him."

"I can't imagine you being that bigoted," Raj said.

"Thank you," she said. "I hope I'm not like him."

"You're not," he said. He took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I know what it's like to have a shitty dad and question if you've accidentally turned out to be like him and I can tell you with absolute certainty that you are not like him."

Minerva smiled. "You're not like your father either," she said. "I can tell you that with absolute certainty as well."

He smiled and let go of her hand. He looked over at Lucy and sighed. "She wouldn't like this, you know," he said. "You working yourself to death like this."

"Oh, she wouldn't notice," Minerva said with a small smile, looking back at her daughter and running circles on the back of her hand with her thumb. "She would be much too busy playing with her friends to notice what I'm doing."

"That's not true she notices. She notices everything and she worried," he said. "She would want you to be okay. No matter what. She would want you to be okay."

"I'm okay, Raj. Really."

Raj sighed and watched her look back down at her papers. He watched her shuffle them into a neater pile for a second before he pulled a folded up magazine out of his back pocket. Transfigurations Today.

"Found this on your desk," he said, unfolding it to reveal a large story on Minerva and tossing it onto her table. "Do you read every article they write about you?"

Minerva gave him a look. "You found this in my rubbish bin."

"No, Isobel did. She said that she likes reading what they write about you," he said. "I asked to read it."

She picked it up and tossed it in the garbage under the bedside table. "They used to write things about my academic work," she mumbled. "Publish my papers and what not. Now it's just about my work in the war and on the Order."

"That's not a bad thing," Raj said. "You're doing so much good work. I'm glad people are appreciating it."

Minerva didn't say anything.

"Are you ever going to tell me what you got your Order of Merlin for?" Raj asked.

"Research I did on Human/Animal Transfigurations," she said without skipping a beat.

"No, your first class one," he said.

Minerva sighed and crossed her arms. "I don't like talking about that," she said quietly. "I've only told Jay, Amelia and Mother the actual story. The only other people who know are the ones who were there and Albus."

"It was an act of outstanding bravery wasn't it?" Raj said. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It was an act that they defined as outstanding bravery," Minerva muttered. "I cannot say that I completely agree with that assessment." she sighed and looked down at Lucy. She reached out and took the girl's hand. "I will admit," she continued more quietly. "The reason I didn't tell Lucy my story when she asked wasn't because I was worried the Death Eaters would scare her. I didn't tell her, and I will probably never tell her, because I worry she'll be scared of me."

'I don't think that you have to worry about that," Raj said. "She's not scared of you. Nothing you could have done would scare her away from you."

Minerva didn't respond. She looked away and closed her eyes.

Raj sighed. "It's a war, Minerva," he said quietly. "People do thing during wartimes that they would never do usually. No one blames you for anything."

Minerva looked over at him for a second before looking away again quickly. She sighed. "A few months after war was declared, myself, Amelia, Alastor, Edgar Bones, Fleamont Potter, and Emmeline Vance were invited to Albus's office," she said quietly. "He told us how he did not believe that the Ministry was handling the threat of the Death Eaters well enough and had decided to create a group called the Order of the Phoenix. We were to be the first six members and would work closely with the Ministry to fight against the Death Eaters. I was the first to agree to join, I don't think Albus was very surprised. I joined without really thinking about the consequences. All of the things that would happen. All the things I would have to do. All the risk I was putting myself and my family in." She took a deep breath and looked down at Lucy, tears filling her eyes. "But I did. I joined. We all did, obviously. I did some field work for a few years after that but after what happened to get me my bloody Order of Merlin, I stopped. Now I do more background things." She looked at her papers and sighed. "All the background things."

"This isn't your fault," he said. "You did what you thought was right. You were just trying to do your part for your world."

"We were doing a raid," Minerva whispered. "It was myself, Frank Longbottom, Caradoc Dearborn, and Emmeline. It was supposed to be an easy in and out, a few Death Eaters but nothing we couldn't handle. Then we got ambushed. So many of them came flooding in. We got separated and I finally found my way to the exit when I realized they hadn't gotten out so I went back. They called that brave. Going back in. Ridiculous. Of course I would go back for them. I wasn't just going to leave them."

Raj smiled a little. "That is brave," he said. "I can't imagine how scary that must have been."

Minerva ignored him. "So I fought my way back to them," she said. "I took out thirteen Death Eaters. All without harming them too much. I finally found the room they were all fighting Death Eaters in. Caradoc was fighting a Death Eater when another came up behind him that he didn't notice. I quickly jumped in front of him before the Death Eater cast his curse and used a defense charm that shot whatever the curse was back at the caster. I didn't - I didn't know that he was going to send a... a Killing Curse."

Raj sighed. "You didn't kill anyone," he said. "You defended yourself."

"The curse bounced back and hit him," she said. "He fell but I didn't have time to react to it. I had to keep fighting. Our back up came to help us and we were able to capture a lot of the Death Eaters. It turned out to be a Death Eater stronghold and a very strategic win, apparently. We found plans that led to the fall of two other strongholds, which is why I got an Order of Merlin. When the fighting was finally over I went back to the boy. He was dead. I had killed him."

"You saved your friends."

Minerva quickly turned and glared at him. "I killed a boy," she said. "Not a man. A boy."

"Min, you -"

"Alexander Warren. That was his name. He was nineteen, just a few years older than Daniel," she said. "A previous student. Slytherin. Transfigurations was never his strong suit but he was very gifted in Charms."

"Minerva -"

"He had a mother. A father. Three younger sisters," Minerva continued, tears running down her cheeks. "And now he's gone. He's gone and he's not coming back and it's my fault."

Raj sighed. "It's not -"

"It is," she whispered. "I killed a nineteen year old boy and I got a stupid award for it. I'm a monster."

"No, you're not," he said. "You did what you had to do to survive and save everyone else. It's not your fault he shot that curse. What did Jay say when you told him?"

"The same things you're saying," she mumbled. "The same things Amelia, Mother, and Albus said."

"I can't imagine how hard that must have been but I can tell you that it's not your fault," Raj said quietly. "War is an awful thing that does horrible things to those who have to fight it. I don't think there's anything I can say to make you feel better but I can say that I don't think you're scary and I don't think Lucy would be scared of you."

Minerva took a deep breath and wiped her tears away quickly. She shook her head. "I'm okay," she whispered, shuffling her papers again. "I should get back to this. Daniel and Nina had another fight earlier today. Maybe you should go try to find them."

Raj sighed but got the hint that Minerva wanted to be alone right now. He got up and left the curtained off bed so she could have some space.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

It's been a while, hey! This chapter is pretty sad and quite long but I hope you enjoyed it! I love reading all your reviews, they make me happy! Please leave more!


	29. TLT -- 29

**_October 1997_**

 _Lucy and Anne grabbed their books from their lockers and headed towards first period English class. Anne was telling her all about some new book she was reading but Lucy was only half listening. She was thinking about how her father had looked the night before and reminding herself to make sure she looked up what alveolar sacs were. She had heard a doctor say it yesterday._

 _Just then Kate, Grace and Tiffany walked by on Lucy's side. As she passed, Kate reached out and slammed her hand down on the books in Lucy's arms causing them to fall and slide across the floor. Lucy looked up at her with wide eyes as the girls laughed._

" _You gotta be more careful, Lucy," Kate said with a laugh and a horrible smile. "Can't you do anything right?"_

" _Get a life, Kate," Anne said, glaring daggers at her as she reached down and picked up the book that had fallen right in front of her. "Don't be so mean."_

" _Whatever, Anne," Kate said, giving a dismissive wave of her hand and walking away. Her two cronies followed after her._

 _Anne glared at her back before kneeling down and helping Lucy pick up her books. She sighs when she notices Lucy's eyes begin to water slightly. Lucy looked away quickly and focused on picking up her books._

" _She's so rude," Anne said. "I wish she'd stop being so mean to you."_

" _I'm fine," Lucy said, straightening back up and taking her books back from Anne. She had regained control of her tears and was able to push them back. "Just ignore her."_

" _I don't know, Lucy," Anne replied. "You've been ignoring her for a while and she still won't back off. Maybe you should tell someone. Like Daniel or your dad."_

" _No," Lucy said as she started walking again. Anne followed beside her. "Dad and Daniel both have more important things to worry about. I shouldn't bug them with something so stupid."_

" _Then a teacher, maybe?" Anne said. "Mr. Gregory really likes you. I bet he'd listen if you -"_

" _No," Lucy said again, more forcefully this time. "It's stupid. You don't have to worry about it. I don't even care. She can say whatever she wants. I don't care."_

" _Okay..." Anne said uncertainly. She knew Lucy liked to deal with her problems on her own and she knew that she had dealt with Kate on her own before but this time it was different. Lucy didn't stand up for herself like she used to. She didn't talk back when Kate said something horrible. She let Kate do or say whatever she liked. Anne hoped that Lucy's dad got better soon so Lucy could go back to the way she used to be soon._

 _Lucy's day just got worse from there. Classes were boring and it turned out alveolar sacs were just part of the lungs. She found no real information to help her figure out if her father was getting better or not. During recess, she and Anne played on the playground for a bit before Kate showed up again. She started talking very loudly with Grace and Tiffany about their last ballet recital. Lucy had also danced in that recital. She had gotten a solo and Kate wasn't very happy about that._

" _It's not her fault that she's a better dancer than you," Anne said. She looked over at Lucy. "Good job on getting a solo, you never told me that. I would have come to see you dance."_

 _Lucy smiled a little. "Thanks, Anne. Maybe you can come next time."_

 _Kate glared at Anne and Lucy. "I don't think that Lucy a better dancer than us," she said. "I think Ms. Jade just gave her a solo because she felt bad for her."_

" _No one even came to watch her," Grace said with a laugh._

" _My brother came," Lucy said quietly. "And his girlfriend too."_

" _My parents came to watch," Tiffany said._

" _Mine too," Kate said with a smile. "And so did Grace's. Even though we didn't get a solo because they actually like us."_

" _Shut up, Kate," Anne said, glaring at the girl. "What's wrong with you? Obviously Lucy's dad would have came if he could. You're so rude."_

 _Lucy didn't say anything. She just looked down at her feet._

" _Yeah, and what about her mum?" Grace said._

 _Anne was about ready to punch all three of these girls in the face. She glared at them but decided that would be a bad idea. Instead, she took Lucy's hand and pulled her away from the playground. "Come on," she said. "We'll go have fun somewhere else."_

 _Lucy sped up so that she could keep up with Anne. They walked to a table by the school and Anne sat down. She looks over at Lucy and said, "Lucy, I'm -"_

" _It's okay," she whispered, sitting down beside Anne on the bench. She didn't want Anne to apologize for what Kate had said. "Daniel came to my recital. He always watches me dance."_

 _..._

 _Daniel and Nina walked down the path from Nina's apartment building towards the parking lot where their cars were parked. Daniel was carrying Nina's overnight bag as she would be staying with him and Lucy in Rochester and accompanying them to London this weekend. They made it to the cars and Daniel opened the boot of Nina's to put the bag inside. He then turned to look at his girlfriend and smiled._

" _Thank you so much for picking up Lucy for me," he said. "And for remembering that she had a half day when I forgot."_

" _Well, someone had too," Nina said, smiling too. "It's no problem at all, Daniel. Lucy's great and I'm excited to get to know her a little more."_

" _You really didn't have to go to all that trouble of planning a whole day," Daniel said with a smile. "I'm sure Lucy would have been fine just watching Aladdin at home. You know I've watched that movie like ten times in the last month?"_

" _Wow," Nina said with a laugh. "She really likes that movie, huh?"_

" _Yeah, her favourite. Next to The Lion King, of course but I don't like to play that one very often right now," Daniel said. He shook his head. "I cry everytime."_

" _Oh so do I! It's so sad!" Nina said. She liked how Daniel wasn't afraid to show his more vulnerable side. "Well, I think a day of fun will be good for Lucy. It may help take her mind off things for a bit."_

" _Yeah, hopefully," he said. "Oh, by the way, if she asks make sure you tell her that I'm working on a project for class, marketing I told her. She'll be very upset if she finds out that I'm going to see Dad without her again. He didn't want Lucy to see him after his surgery. Didn't think it would be good for her."_

" _I agree. It'll be better for her to just wait until tomorrow, I think," Nina said with a nod. "What time do you think you'll be back tonight?"_

" _I should be back by nine. I'm not sure though. It depends how long the surgery takes."_

 _Nina nodded again. She and Daniel hugged, kissed, and said goodbye before getting in their cars and driving their separate ways. Nina to Rochester and Daniel to London._

 _The drive to Rochester wasn't too long. Since it was earlier in the day, Nina was able to beat much of the traffic. She drove up to Lucy's school and found a place to park before getting out and walking towards the front door. Other parents had also gathered to pick up their children. Nina stood there and waited for school to let out._

 _The bell rang and students started filing out. Lucy and Anne came out a little while later. Anne spotted her mother's car in the parking lot, waved goodbye to Lucy, and raced over to it. Lucy looked around for her brother or his car but didn't see him. He was late, again. She was walking towards the parking lot when she spotted Nian waiting for her. Nina smiled and waved._

" _Hey, Lucy!" Nina said happily as Lucy walked over to her._

" _Hi," Lucy said._

" _Your brother has a huge school project that he has to work on today so he asked me to pick you up," she said. "I hope that's okay."_

" _Yeah," Lucy mumbled. She followed Nina towards the parking lot. "So is he meeting us in London or is he not coming today?"_

" _Ah, we can't go to London today," Nina replied, looking down at Lucy. "But -"_

" _We're not going to see Dad?" Lucy asked, eyes widening. She looked up at Nina sadly._

" _Ah, no. We can't today but Daniel said we'll drive up first thing tomorrow morning," she said. "I know it's not ideal and that you really wanted to see him but we'll have some fun today and then go see him tomorrow. I've planned a lot of things for us to do while Daniel's away. We can have a little girl's night. Just the two of us. It'll be fun."_

 _Lucy didn't want to have a girl's night. She didn't want to have fun or do things just the two of them. She wanted to go to London and be with her father. She had been having a bad day and this only made it worse. It being a half day at school, she had thought that she would get so much more time to be with Jay so why was Nina taking that away from her?_

 _They made it to the car and Nina opened the backdoor for her. Lucy got in and Nina closed the door behind her before getting into the driver's side. She turned on the engine and started pulling away from the parking lot._

" _So, how was school today?" Nina asked._

" _Fine," Lucy replied, looking out the window and watching the trees and houses fly by. She noticed that they didn't turn when they were supposed to in order to get home. Maybe Nina had changed her mind and was taking her to London after all. Lucy felt a little bit of hope but before she could say anything, Nina spoke and all her hope disappeared._

" _Well, I thought we could start our day by going out for lunch," she said with a smile. "Daniel said that you really liked the restaurant Brettington's so I thought we could go there. What do you think?"_

 _Lucy didn't want to go to a restaurant. She didn't want to go anywhere but London. She was about to say so too when she saw the look on Nina's face. Nina seemed very excited to spend the day with her and Lucy didn't understand why. Why was she trying so hard to get Lucy to like her? She was Daniel's girlfriend, why should she care about Lucy? None of Daniel's previous girlfriends ever took this much interest in her. Nina was a lot different from anyone Daniel had dated before. They had all been nice but not in the same way Nina was nice. Not in the drive an hour into London almost every night, sit for two hours just to watch your sister dance for three minutes, take your six year old sister out to lunch while you were busy type of nice._

 _Lucy didn't want to be mean to Nina, especially when she was being so nice to her, so she just nodded. "Okay," she said._

 _They made it to Brettington's and Nina parked the car. Lucy got out and followed her to the restaurant where they were seated, given menus, and asked about drinks. Lucy got an iced tea while Nina got just water._

" _I've never been here before," Nina said as she looked over at the lunch specials. "What do you recommend?"_

 _Lucy shrugged. "I like the cheeseburger," she said. "It's good."_

" _Do you want that?"_

 _Lucy nodded. "Without tomatoes."_

" _Right, Daniel told me that you weren't a big fan of tomatoes," Nina said with a smile. "I think I'm going to get the burger as well." She closed her menu and set it down. "So, did anything exciting happen at school today?"_

" _Not really."_

" _Do you have a lot of homework?"_

" _No. I finished it in class."_

" _That's good."_

 _The waitress came back over with their drinks and took their lunch orders before collecting their menus and walking away again. Lucy took a sip of her iced tea and looked around at the other people in the restaurant. It seemed a lot of people were taking advantage of the school's half day. The restaurant was full with groups of friend and mothers with their children. Lucy watched a mother laugh with her daughter and ask her about her day a table down from them before turning away quickly._

" _Are you okay, Lucy?" Nina asked._

" _I'm fine," Lucy said quietly, looking back down at her glass._

" _I know that everything's been pretty heavy on you lately and if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you," Nina said, giving her a small smile._

 _Lucy looked up at her. Should she tell her about Kate and the other girls at school? She knew that Anne would want her too but she didn't know if it was a good idea. She decided against it. Nina wouldn't want to be bothered by that stuff. She probably had her own things to worry about too. "I'm fine," she said again._

" _Alright," Nina said uncertainly. She decided not to push Lucy on it. They hadn't known each other very long so it was understandable if she didn't feel that comfortable talking to her about anything too personal. She couldn't imagine what Lucy was going through right now and she wanted to help her, she just didn't know how._

 _They talked a little bit more, Nina holding most of the conversation and Lucy only responding in short sentences, before the food came. The waitress that brought them their food was different from the first waitress. She noticed Lucy and gave her a small knowing smile._

" _Hello, Lucy," she said. "How's your dad doing?"_

" _Hi, Kim," Lucy said, giving the waitress a little smile. She never really knew how to answer this question. She didn't know how her dad was really doing. She usually just lied or told them what she thought they would want to hear. "He's okay."_

" _Are you seeing him soon? I'll pack up his favourite order for you guys on the house," she said. "It'll probably be better than that hospital food they give him."_

" _Thank you," Lucy said._

" _Yes, thank you. I'm Nina by the way," Nina said, sticking out her hand for the waitress to shake. "Daniel's girlfriend."_

" _It's nice to meet you, Nina," Kim said with a smile. "How long have you and Daniel been seeing each other?"_

" _It's been about three weeks now," Nina replied with a smile. "How long have you know the Collins family?"_

" _Since I was sixteen, actually. I started working here and they come here all the time," Kim said, she looked over at Lucy. "I've known Lucy since she was only a year old. She's also friends with our head chief's daughter."_

" _Her name is Sarah," Lucy said._

" _That's nice," Nina said._

" _So, where is Daniel today?" Kim asked._

" _He had a very important project to work on," Lucy said. "He isn't coming home till late."_

" _I see," she said with a smile. "I guess he's really living the university student life now. Well, I'll let you get back to your lunch. See me before you leave, okay?"_

" _Okay," Lucy said._

 _Kim said goodbye and left back towards the kitchen. Nina picked up one of her fries and tossed it in her mouth. "She seemed really nice."_

" _Yeah."_

" _A lot of people know you guys. It feels like you know everyone in Rochester," Nina said with a smile._

" _Daddy knows a lot of people," Lucy said._

 _They ate their food and Nina asked Lucy if she wanted dessert but Lucy said no. They paid and got up to leave. Kim came out with a take out box in hand. She gave it to Lucy and gave her a quick hug._

" _You tell your dad that we're all rooting for him to get better soon, okay?" she said. "And as soon as he does you guys bring him here. We'll make sure he's well fed."_

" _Okay," Lucy said with a small smile. "Thank you, Kim. I'll tell him."_

" _Good girl," Kim said as she straightened up. She looked over at Nina as well. "It was nice to meet you, Nina. You two have a nice rest of the day."_

" _Thank you," Nina said. "It was very nice to meet you as well."_

 _She and Lucy said one last goodbye and headed back to the car. They got in and Nina drove them towards the opera house._

" _Did you know that dancers from the Royal Ballet are in town?" she said. "They're performing here in about thirty minutes. I thought the two of us could go see them."_

" _Really?" Lucy asked, looking up quickly. This was probably the most excited Nina had seen Lucy all day._

" _Yes," she said with a smile._

 _They made it to the theatre and Nina pulled the tickets out of her purse. She handed them to Lucy and Lucy gave them to the attendant at the door. He ushered them in and they found their seats. People in dresses and suits came in to watch the ballet as well. Lucy looked around, down at her school uniform, and then over at Nina._

" _Are we underdressed?" she asked._

 _Nina gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "We can appreciate good ballet even if we're not wearing fancy dresses."_

 _Lucy smiled, a real smile. Not a small smile meant to make everyone else think that she was okay when she really wasn't. A genuine, happy smile. Throughout the performance, Nina looked over at Lucy and saw the wonder and excitement on her face as she watched the ballerinas twirl and jump. She was glad to see the little girl act like an actual little girl for once. Nina had known Lucy for about two weeks now and Lucy only ever acted like a six year old when she was around her father. Any other time, she acted so much older._

 _After the performance Lucy excitedly told Nina all about it as if she hadn't been sitting next to her the whole time. It was the most Lucy had talked all day._

" _Did you see her grande plie? And her sautteé? She was so good! I wish I could do that," Lucy said, taking Nina's hand as they walked out of the theatre towards the front doors._

 _Nina smiled. "I'm sure that you could dance like that with more practice," she said. "They have had a lot more time than you have."_

" _You think so? You think I could really dance like that?"_

" _Oh, yeah. Definitely. I mean, I saw you dance and you're so good already," Nina said, looking down at Lucy and giving her a smile. "I'm sure that given even more time to practice, you could totally dance like that. You just have to want to do it."_

" _I want to do it!" Lucy said excitedly. She was so happy that Nina thought that she could dance like those ballerina. "Maybe when I'm older I can -"_

 _Just then someone bumped Lucy as they passed by. Lucy looked over and saw that it was Kate walking beside her mother. Lucy's smile faded immediately. Kate looked at her and said, "hey, Lucy. Watch where you're going next time."_

 _Lucy glared at her as she walked away with her mother. Nina saw her and smiled, not noticing Lucy's uncomfortableness._

" _Is that a friend of yours from school?" she asked._

" _No," Lucy said quietly. She let go of Nina's hand and started walking a bit faster._

 _Nina frowned and sped up to catch up with her. From that point on, Lucy was back to the moody little girl she had been before the ballet. Nina sighed. They got back to the car and Nina drove them back to Collins Mansion. They got out of the car and Nina grabbed her bags. Lucy grabbed her backpack and ran towards the front door. Nina walked after her and unlocked the door._

" _Okay, I thought that after you got changed out of your uniform we could bake some cookies," Nina said, her day of fun far from over. "We can make some chocolate chip cookies with milk chocolate chips. I know those are your favourite."_

" _Okay," Lucy said, though she didn't really feel like baking right now. She ran upstairs to her bedroom to get changed._

 _Nina walked over to the kitchen, put the take out box they had gotten from Brettington's in the fridge, and pulled out her cookbook from her bag. She washed her hands, opened the cookbook and started grabbing the ingredients from the pantry. She set them on the kitchen island._

 _Lucy came into the room then and walked over to the counter. She looked up at the ingredients, saw that Nina's back was turned, and reached up to grab a handful of chocolate chips. Nina turned around, saw her and smiled._

" _Sneaking chocolate chips?"_

 _Lucy turned quickly and looked at her before bowing her head a bit. "Sorry."_

" _That's okay," Nina said with a smile, walking over and grabbing some for herself. "They're good, aren't they?"_

 _Lucy smiled a little bit and nodded._

" _Alright, wash your hands and we'll get started," Nina said with a smile. She walked over to the pantry and kicked a footstool out towards the kitchen sink for Lucy. Lucy walked over and stepped up to wash her hands. "We can eat some today and then take some with us tomorrow when we go into London so that your dad can try them too."_

 _Lucy nodded and they got to work. Nina preheated the oven and Lucy kicked the footstool over to the kitchen island so that she could help._

" _Do you like cooking?" Lucy asked, looking up at her brother's girlfriend when she walked over to the counter as well._

" _I do," Nina said with a smile as she picked up an egg and held it out for Lucy. "Here do you want to crack this egg into the mixing bowl?"_

 _Lucy shook her head. "I don't know how."_

" _Oh, it's easy. Here I'll show you," Nina said, pulling the mixing bowl closer to her. She took Lucy's hand and put the egg in it. She moved Lucy's hand over the bowl's edge. "Just hit it gently on the side of the bowl to make a crack and then pull it apart with two hands."_

 _Lucy did what Nina said, Nina guiding her hands a little bit and the egg fell into the bowl. She smiled as she looked at the yellow yolk at the bottom of the bowl._

" _Good job, no shell," Nina said with a smile. "Okay, butter. I'll do that." Nina grabbed the butter and a knife. "It has lines on the wrapper, see? So it's already measured for us. We just have to cut on the lines." Nina cut on the one cup line, took off the paper and threw the butter in the bowl. She then picked up the three quarter cup and handed it to Lucy. "Do you want to measure the sugar?"_

 _Lucy nodded. Nina pushed the sugar jar towards Lucy and Lucy opened it up, scooping some sugar into the bowl. Nina then handed her the brown sugar. Lucy began scooping it up and was about to pour it into the bowl when Nina stopped her._

" _Wait," she said, opening the drawer on the side of the counter and pulling out a butter knife. "You don't let it heap like that. You can use the back of the knife to flatten it out. Like this, watch."_

 _Nina guided Lucy's hand back over the bag of brown sugar and scraped the back of the knife over top of it to level it. When she was done, Lucy poured it into the bowl._

" _Have you ever baked cookies before?" Nina asked._

 _Lucy shook her head. "No," she said. "Do you bake a lot? You're not even looking at the book. Do you have the recipe memorized?"_

" _I think I might bake far too often," Nina said with a laugh as she picked up the teaspoon and the vanilla extract. She started measuring out the vanila. "I'm surprised you've never baked before. We can bake more sometime if you'd like. I can teach you how to make a whole bunch of different things."_

" _Okay," Lucy said with a small smile. "How did you learn how to bake?"_

" _Oh, my mother taught me," Nina said with a smile, pouring the vanilla into the bowl and putting it down. "She taught me how to cook and bake. She liked it too."_

 _Lucy's smile faded away. "Oh..." she said. "I never cooked before. My mum never taught me."_

 _Nina's smile faded too. She had completely forgot. How stupid was she? She shouldn't have brought up her mother. She really hoped Lucy didn't think she was bragging._

" _I'm sorry, love," Nina said with a sigh. She reached up and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. She knew that her mother had left two years ago but she didn't know much. Daniel didn't talk about her very much._

" _It's not your fault," Lucy said, pulling away a bit. Nina took her hand away, not wanting to make Lucy uncomfortable, and Lucy looked down at her hands. "I'm fine."_

" _Alright, let's mix this up," Nina said, deciding to get back to the cookies. "Do you guys have a mixer or do we have to do it by hand?"_

" _We have one," Lucy mumbled, hopping off the stool and walking towards a cupboard. She pulled out a light blue hand mixer and walked back to Nina._

 _Nina took it from her and smiled. She started unwrapping the cord around it and said, "this is really cute. I like your mixer."_

" _It was my mum's."_

 _Goddammit! Nina felt like she was just constantly putting her foot in her mouth. "Ah, so," she said, holding out the mixer to Lucy. "Do you want to do the mixing?"_

" _I guess," Lucy mumbled, taking the mixer and sticking it in the bowl. She looked at the buttons on top of it and Nina pointed out the one she had to press. Lucy pressed it and Nina quickly grabbed it to help her control the mixer and stop the dough from flying everywhere. Next they started mixing the dry ingredients and then mixed the two bowls together. Nina adds the chocolate chips and looks in the bowl._

" _I think we need more chocolate chips," she said, looking at the sparsely mixed in chocolate chips. "We probably shouldn't have eaten so many."_

" _I think we have some in the pantry," Lucy said softly._

" _Do you want to go grab them?" Nina asked._

" _Okay," Lucy said, hopping off the footstool again and walking back towards the pantry. She grabbed the chocolate chips and looked at the bag. "It's already open. I think Daniel was eating them."_

 _Nina laughed. "Well, I think half of this bag and half of that bag should be enough," she said as she pulled out a baking sheet._

 _Lucy walked back towards the counter when her foot got caught on a bag of rice laying on the pantry floor and she fell forward. She hit the ground with a crash and chocolate chips scattered across the floor._

" _Are you okay?" Nina asked, rushing over to help her up._

 _Lucy didn't look up as she pushed herself up onto her knees. "I - I dropped all the chocolate chips," she whispered, sitting up on her knees and looking around. "I made a mess."_

 _Nina saw the tears fill her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey. It's okay," she said. She picked up the bag. "There's still a little bit left in here that we can use and we'll clean up the rest of it. It's not a problem, don't worry."_

 _Tears fell down Lucy's face and she fell back on her butt, sticking her legs out in front of her and hiding her head in her hands. "I - I can't do a-anything right."_

" _No, no," Nina said, soothingly, putting an arm around her and pulling her closer. "Lucy, it was an accident. It's okay."_

 _Lucy just kept crying. She couldn't even really explain why. It felt like the floodgates had opened and now she couldn't stop herself. It had just been so much lately. She had been going through so much and she hadn't cried in a long time. She had tried to bottle it up for so long and now she felt like she was exploding. And the thing that finally pushed her off the edge; chocolate chips._

 _Nina pulled her closer and hugged her tightly, rubbing small circles on her back. "Shh... I know, love, I know," she whispered. "I know that this is about more than just the chocolate chips. It's hard. I can't imagine all the anxiety and pressure that you feel. It's okay to cry sometimes. It's okay to not be okay."_

 _Lucy hugged Nina and buried her face in her chest. "I - I just want my mommy and daddy so bad!"_

" _I know, love," Nina whispered, tears filling her own eyes. She held Lucy tightly._

" _N-Nina," she said, looking up with a tear stained, broken expression. "I'm - I'm scared. Th-they keep say- saying I'm brave and strong and I'm t-trying b-but I don't think - think I am!"_

" _You are, my love. You are so strong and brave. Sometimes even the strongest, bravest people cry," Nina said, reaching up, wiping the tears off Lucy's cheeks and cupping her face in her hands. "Listen, crying is not weak. It's not cowardly to be scared. Things happen and they... they suck and it's okay to acknowledge that they suck. It's okay to let yourself be scared or to let yourself cry. Being brave is what comes after."_

" _H-how do I be brave?" Lucy asked with a sniff, wanting nothing more than to feel a little braver, a little more in control, right now._

" _You wipe the tears away, you pick up the chocolate chips and you keep making cookies," Nina said with a smile. She helped Lucy up and then got up on her knees so that they were face to face, putting her hands on her shoulders and holding her an arm's length away. "Lucy, I'm eighteen years old and in that eighteen years I've met my fair share of six year old. I can tell you with great certainty that you are the strongest, bravest, and smartest six year old that I have ever met."_

 _Lucy smiled a little bit. "You think so?"_

" _I know so," Nina says with a smile._

 _Lucy moved closer and gave Nina another hug, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Thank you, Nina," she said quietly. "I'm glad that you're here."_

" _Of course," she said. "I'll always be here for you. If you need me, I'll be here."_

 _And Nina meant it. She loved this little girl and wanted nothing more than to protect her from the world. Lucy needed someone right now. She needed Nina and god help anyone who tried to stop Nina from helping her. No matter what happened, she would be here for this little girl._

" _Okay, let's get this cleaned up and those cookies in the oven. Then I'll order some dinner and we can just stay in for the rest of the night. I was planning on taking you down to the observatory as well because Daniel told me about how much you love space but I think we can do that another day," Nina said, standing up again. Lucy still clung close to her though. "Where is your broom?"_

" _Ah... actually," Lucy said, a little uncertainly. She took a deep breath and decidedly looked up at Nina. "Can I show you something?"_

" _Of course," Nina said with a smile._

" _Watch," Lucy said, taking a step forward. She took another deep breath and put out her hand._

 _Nina raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what Lucy was trying to do. She was about to say something when the chocolate chips on the ground began to shake. Nina looked around the floor with wide eyes as the chips floated two feet up into the air and spun around Lucy until they collected into one group. The group flew towards the the sink, the cupboard door under the sink opened on its own for the cluster of chocolate chips and they settled themselves in the rubbish bin. Lucy then turned to look back at Nina apprehensively. She really hoped she hadn't scared her brother's girlfriend away._

" _W-wow," Nina said finally. She quickly controlled the shock on her face and her eyes went back to normal size. "How did you do that?"_

" _Magic," Lucy said. "I'm a witch. Well, actually just part witch. My mum could do magic, she was a witch. Dad and Daniel can't do magic. I taught myself how to control it. My mum left a few books behind and I've been reading those too."_

" _Wow... I didn't know that - that magic was real!'_

" _Yeah, Dad and Daniel didn't know either until Mum told them. You're not supposed to tell people who can't do magic unless they're... they're really important to you."_

 _Nina smiled. "That's really cool, Lucy. I knew you were special but I didn't expect anything like this!" she said. "Thank you for sharing that with me."_

 _Lucy smiled too, walked back over to Nina again and hugged her one more time. They finished making their cookies and while they were in the oven, Nina ordered food for dinner._

 _They sat down on the couch in the living room, ate their pizza and cookies, and watched Aladdin instead of going out again. While the movie was playing, Lucy cuddled a little closer to Nina and told her more about the Wizarding World, what she knew anyways. She also told her more about her mother._

" _I don't know why she left," Lucy said sadly, resting her head on Nina's chest. Nina, who had her arms wrapped around her, gave her a little squeeze. "Daddy keeps saying that she'll come back but it's... it's been two years now and she's still not back. I don't think she'll ever come home."_

" _Well, I think that it's horribly stupid for someone to give up the opportunity to have someone as amazing as you in their life," Nina said, giving her a kiss on the forehead._

 _Lucy smiled a little. "And Daniel and Daddy too. They're awesome too."_

" _Yes, they are."_

 _Lucy also told Nina about the girls at school who've been so mean to her. It felt good to finally have it off her chest, to actually talk to someone else about it._

" _That was the girl that bumped into you at the theatre?" Nina asked with a frown. Lucy nodded. "How long has this been going on?"_

" _Since I was five," Lucy said, holding up five fingers. "I was moved up to year six and I met her and she didn't like me even before I said anything to her. I don't know what I did."_

" _I don't think you've done anything," Nina said. "This girl sounds horrible. She must be a very sad person if she just decided to hate someone she didn't even know yet."_

" _A sad person?"_

" _A lot of the time when people aren't happy with the person they are, they'll take it out on other people," she explained. "It's terrible but it happens. I'll talk to Daniel, maybe he or I could talk to one of your teachers or -"_

" _No," Lucy said, looking up at Nina and shaking her head violently. "It's not that bad. You don't have to do that. I can handle it."_

" _It's okay to -"_

" _No. Please, Nina. I can handle it."_

 _Nina looked her over for a second before finally nodding. "Fine," she said, though she still planned to talk to Daniel about it. "But if it continues then you tell me, okay? This isn't nothing, Lucy. It's serious. Bullying is bad and she should learn that."_

 _Lucy nodded, though she had no plans to do that._

 _They finished their dinner and movie and then Nina called the hospital so Lucy could talk to Jay. Lucy told her father all about her day with Nina and informed him of all the food they were going to bring him tomorrow when they came to visit._

" _I can't wait, Kitten," he said. Lucy could hear the smile in his voice and it made her smile too. "Your cookies sound delicious and I can't wait to try them."_

" _Nina says that we'll leave for London first thing tomorrow morning," Lucy said. "I can't wait to actually see you. I'm sorry we couldn't come today. I wanted to so bad."_

" _I know, my darling. It's okay. I understand. I can't wait to see you all tomorrow as well."_

 _Lucy talked with Jay a little longer before saying goodbye, 'I love you' and giving the phone back to Nina. Nina talked to Jay as well and was informed that he was doing okay, very tired from his surgery but okay. Daniel was still there but would be headed out soon._

 _When she hung up the phone with Jay, she and Lucy walked back into the living room and Nina put on another movie for them to watch. They sat back down on the couch, snuggled close under a throw blanket and watched the movie._

 _Daniel came home about an hour later to find them laying on the couch with their arms around each other fast asleep. He smiled as he walked over and gave Nina's shoulder a little shake._

" _Hey," he said when Nina opened her eyes._

" _Oh, hey, Daniel," she whispers sleepily. "How was your day?"_

" _It was okay," he said. "The surgery was long and then it took a while longer for Dad to wake up. It's hard to tell right now whether it did anything or not, the doctors said that we'll have to wait to see. Hopefully... something comes of it."_

" _I hope so," Nina said._

" _Well, should we head up to bed?" asked Daniel. Nina nodded a little and looked down at Lucy. Daniel moved and gently picked her up into his arms. Lucy stirred and opened her eyes._

" _D-Daniel?"_

" _Yeah, kid. I'm home," he said softly. "Looks like you and Nina fell asleep while watching The Little Mermaid."_

 _Lucy looked over and saw Princess Ariel being turned back into a human by her father. Nina sat up and found the remote so she could turn off the television._

" _So, did you have fun with Nina today?" Daniel asked._

 _Lucy nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, it was nice," she whispered. "We went to the ballet and made cookies. It was fun."_

" _That's good," he said with a smile._

 _Nina stood up and they walked towards the stairs. They went upstairs and Daniel went into Lucy's bedroom to help her into bed while Nina went into his. She changed her clothes and climbed into bed. Daniel came moments later, changed and climbed in beside her as well. He put an arm around her and kissed her cheek._

" _Thank you for staying with Lucy today," he said._

" _Of course," Nina said with a smile, cuddling closer to him and resting her head on his chest. "So, Lucy showed me something quite odd today."_

" _Oh?"_

" _Now, this may not be news to you but it was definitely news to me," she said casually, "but apparently magic is real and witches and wizards exist."_

 _Daniel didn't say anything for a second before finally sighing and saying, "that kid can't keep a secret to save her life."_

 _Nina laughed. "I'm a little hurt you didn't tell me."_

" _There's like laws about it. We're not supposed to tell people," Daniel said. "But I'm glad you know. It makes things easier. Please don't tell anyone though. I don't want Lucy to get in trouble."_

" _Of course," she said. "Your secret is safe with me."_

" _Lucy's mum was the witch," he said quietly. "The Wizarding World isn't having a good time right now. Apparently there's a war going on."_

" _A war?" Nina asked, looking up at him with raised eyebrows._

 _He nodded though he didn't look at her. "There's a group of wizards who think that wizards born with two magic parents are better than wizards born with no magical parents. They're called Muggleborns. Muggle is what they call non-magical people."_

" _Wow."_

" _Yeah. That's why she left. Apparently it was safer. She thought it was anyway. I don't think my father agreed but he let her go anyways. We haven't heard anything from her or any wizard or witch since. Lucy hasn't seen her grandmother or her aunts and uncles. Her godmother. No one has even sent a letter."_

" _I'm so sorry, Daniel."_

" _It's okay. I'm okay. It's Lucy you should worry about. I know she remembers everyone. She didn't just lose her mother. She lost an entire half of her family."_

" _So did you," Nina said, reaching up and putting a hand on his cheek. "And it's okay for you to let yourself feel that. She left you too, not just Lucy, and it's okay to be mad at her for that. It's okay to think about how you're hurting too."_

 _He looked down at her finally and have her a sad little smile. "Thank you, Nina," he said. "I just need to control my emotions for her sake. Lucy needs someone who can be strong for her and I have to be that person."_

 _Nina sighed. Daniel was an amazing person. He helped everyone else before himself. He had to be strong for his sister, for his father, for himself. She just hoped he didn't burn himself out._

" _Anyways, thanks again for looking after Lucy today," he said, breaking the comfortable silence. "I know that she can be a handful sometimes so I appreciate it."_

" _That's okay," Nina said. "Lucy's not a handful. She just needs a little bit more attention than most children her age and that's understandable considering everything she's been going through."_

" _Yeah."_

" _She wasn't having a very good day today when I picked her up."_

 _Daniel sighed. "I know. She's been having a lot of bad days lately and I don't know how to help her."_

" _When we were making cookies," Nina said quietly, "she broke down. I think it just all got too much for her. She cried so much, Daniel. It was heartbreaking. She said that she was trying so hard to be strong and brave but she didn't know how and I told her that it's okay to cry. That a lot of very strong and brave people cry every now and again."_

" _Poor Lucy."_

" _Apparently there are these girls at school that aren't being very nice to her," Nina said. "She said that they say mean things to her but she doesn't want us to talk to the school about it. Said she can handle it herself."_

 _Daniel sighed. "Should we talk to them anyway?"_

" _Maybe we should ask your dad what he thinks?"_

" _I don't know. I don't want him to worry. Maybe we'll just see if it continues and if it does we'll go talk to the school."_

" _Alright."_

" _Thank you for telling me."_

" _Of course."_

" _Why don't we get some rest. I'm sure Lucy will make us get up early tomorrow to go into London."_

 _Nina smiled and nodded. "Okay, goodnight, Daniel."_

" _Goodnight, love."_

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, July 14th 1999_**

Nina sighed as she leaned forward in her chair. She had her arms resting on Lucy's bed and her chin on her arms, watching the girl's chest go up and down irregularly. Daniel wasn't here. He had stormed off earlier after they had gotten into yet another argument. Isobel was also away. She had gone out for the day to check up on Malcolm and the others and to keep them informed of Lucy's condition. Amelia and Raj were at work so it was just Nina and Minerva sitting around the bed.

Minerva looked up at Nina from her papers. "If you need to take a little break as well, I don't mind," she said. "I'll be alright on my own."

"I don't need a break," Nina said quietly. "I just... I don't know."

Minerva sighed. "I know," she said.

"Have I told you about the first day Lucy and I spent just the two of us?" Nina asked, looking up at Minerva with a small smile.

"You have not," she said, putting her quill down and leaning back in her chair.

Nina straightened up and leaned back in her chair as well. "It was the day of Uncle Jay's lung transplant," she said. "He didn't want Lucy at the hospital when they did it because he was worried it would scare her but Daniel and Raj had to go be there for him, obviously, so they needed someone to watch Lucy. I offered to look after her and planned a nice day for us."

Minerva smiled. "That was very nice of you."

Nina shrugged. "It's not hard," she said, reaching out and running her fingers through Lucy's hair, "spending time with her. It's great. I had a lot of fun."

Minerva smiled again.

"She was definitely not into it at first," Nina said. "She didn't want to spend the day with me. She wasn't having a great day to begin with because some girls at school were being mean to her and she just wanted to go to London to see her father. A girls night with me was not something she was very psyched about."

"Oh, poor Lucy," Minerva said with a sigh.

"We had fun though," Nina said. "I took her to the ballet."

"I bet she loved that," Minerva said with a smile.

"Oh yes," she said with a smile. "Said she wanted to be just like them, the ballerinas. Asked me if I thought she could and you should have seen the way her face lit up when I told her that I believed she could. I told her that she was a great dancer and that if she really wanted to, I'm sure she could become a ballerina for the Royal Ballet."

"Definitely," Minerva said. "Lucy has the determination. Jay definitely though she was good enough as well. Her first ballet recital he decided that she was the best of the best. I laughed at him but, honestly, watching her up there now I could completely see her making it her career."

Nina nodded. "Uncle Jay was very sad when he could no longer go to her recitals," she said with a sigh. "Lucy was sad too. Daniel and I would go and Uncle Raj would come whenever he could but it wasn't the same."

Minerva looked down at her daughter and sighed. She reached out and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze.

"He had Uncle Raj bring daisies to the hospital so that he could give them to her after every recital even though he couldn't make it," Nina said with a small smile.

"Of course he did," Minerva said, smiling a small smile as well. Then her smile faded and she sighed. "Nina, you were there at the hospital. Do you really think this is not the same?"

"I believe it's not," Nina said confidently. "I believe Lucy will wake up. She's strong and she's brave. She doesn't think she is but she is. She's going to wake, I know she is."

Minerva smiled a little and nodded. "She is."

"After the ballet we went back home and baked cookies," Nina said. "She accidently dropped all the chocolate chips and then broke down crying. She had been bottling it all up for so long and then this just kind of pushed her over the edge. I told her that it's okay to cry. That even the strongest, bravest people cry sometimes and she asked me how you be brave."

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'you wipe the tears away, you pick up the chocolate chips and you keep making cookies'."

* * *

 ** _Monday, July 19th 1999_**

"How's she doing?" Remus asked as he walked over to Lucy's bed in the Hospital Wing.

Minerva looked up and sighed. "Has not changed a bit."

"Well... I brought some flowers," he said a little uncertainly, holding up a bouquet of brightly coloured flowers. "Thought it might... bring a little colour to this room."

Nina smiled, got up from her seat beside Daniel and took the bouquet from him. "Thank you, Remus," she said quietly as she put the flowers into a vase on the bedside table. "That was very nice of you."

"It's not a problem," he said, pulling up a chair for himself.

"So, how are you doing, Remus?" Isobel asked, giving him a smile.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"I heard you were taking a lot more guard shifts in Hogsmeade recently," Daniel said. Remus gave a little shrug.

"I know why," Nina mumbled. "Sirius has been at the castle more so you're hiding out in Hogsmeade."

"Not true," Remus said. Minerva gave him a look. He frowned. "It's not."

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "You two are being ridiculous."

"He's the one being ridiculous," Remus muttered, looking away. He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about him. I came down to see how Lucy was doing not to worry about him. Has Slughorn made any headway on an antidote?"

"Last time I went down to the dungeons to check on him I watched a cauldron blow up in his face," Minerva mumbled with another sigh. "So, I would venture to guess the answer is no."

"He's... trying," Isobel said. It was the nicest thing she could think to say right now. "Very hard."

Daniel looked down at his sister and took her hand. "It's been weeks."

Nina put a hand on his shoulder. "Slughorn will find an antidote," she said. "I know he will. We just have to wait."

Remus looked around the Hospital Wing at the other children and sighed. "Nine children," he whispered. "It was a large attack."

Isobel sighed and shook her head. "It was aimed at children," she mumbled. "Of course a child would not think twice about finding a random black box laying around. They were just excited for something new."

"I don't think Lucy will be allowed anywhere without either one of us present from now on," Minerva muttered. "From now on one of us will stay with her always."

Daniel nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"I still think my flat is a good option," Nina said quietly.

"Nina, we barely fit in your flat just the two of us," Daniel said. He was very sick of her bringing that up constantly. "Where would Lucy even sleep?"

"On the bed with me," Nina replied sharply with a frown. She removed her hand from his shoulder and crossed her arms. "While you slept out on the couch."

"With my legs hanging off the end?" he muttered.

"The ground is always a good option for _you_ as well," Nina snipped. "Maybe serve your spoiled ass a little good."

"I've slept on a floor before," he said, becoming angry now. "Just because I had more -"

"That's enough!" Minerva cut in with a frown before Daniel could say something very stupid. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves. We are all on the same side. We all want what is best for the safety of all of us. Fighting amongst ourselves will not help that cause."

Nina and Daniel both looked away angrily. Daniel stood up. "I need some air."

He took one last look at Lucy before sighing and walking away, out of the Hospital Wing. Nina watched him go for a second before looking back at Lucy too. She stood up too.

"I'm going down to the staffroom for coffee."

"We can order -"

"No, I think the walk will do me some good," Nina muttered, cutting Isobel off, as she turned on her heel and walked out of the Hospital Wing too.

Isobel sighed and shook her head. "They've been like that all summer."

Minerva sighed too and Remus gave them both a reassuring look. "Everyone's still scared," he said. "I'm sure once Slughorn finds an antidote they'll be fine."

"You and Sirius are fighting. Daniel and Nina are fighting. Everyone's fighting," Minerva muttered, looking down at Lucy and brushing her face with her finger gently. "I don't know how much more we can all take."

"Sirius and I are different from Nina and Daniel. I don't think they're fighting enough to actually break up," he said. "They're fighting because they both care. That's not really a mixture for the end of a relationship."

Minerva shook her head. "You're still so young, Remus."

He smiled a little. "I'm sorry I'm not as cynical as you are yet, Professor," he said. "Though I feel I may be getting there."

"Don't say that," Isobel said with a shake of her head. "You should never become as cynical as my daughter."

Remus laughed a little and Minerva gave her mother a look. She was about to say something when Sirius walked up to the bed. Sirius saw Remus and suddenly got very awkward. He was also holding a bouquet of flowers in his arms. "I was just... I'll come back another time."

"No," Remus muttered, standing up. "I'll see you later, Minerva, Isobel."

"You don't -" Minerva began.

"Bye," Remus said, walking past Sirius towards the door.

Minerva sighed and Sirius awkwardly held out his bouquet. "I brought flowers."

"Thank you, Sirius," Isobel said with a small smile, taking the bouquet from him. She conjured up another vase and set the flowers inside it.

Sirius looked over at Lucy's bedside table. It was covered in flowers, cards, and stuffed animals. He smiled a little and nodded towards it. "She's very popular."

"All of the Weasley children and one of her school friends made her get well soon cards," Minerva said with a smile. "And James and Lily and Remus and Peter all brought flowers as well. Raj and a lot of other Order members brought the toys."

"Hmm."

"Why don't you sit, Sirius?" Isobel said, motioning to the chair that Remus had just vacated. He looked at it for a second before nodding and sitting down.

"Sirius," Minerva said, watching him carefully. "This thing with Remus -"

"Don't tell me I'm being ridiculous, Minerva," he said, cutting her off. "I think he's the spy. All the evidence points to him."

"What evidence?" Isobel asked.

"He was the only one I told that I was going to be in Essex and then I was -"

"That was a coincidence!" Minerva exclaimed. "Sirius, Death Eaters are everywhere. Just because they found you there doesn't mean that he's the one."

"There are no coincidences anymore," Sirius replied quietly. He looked down at Lucy. "Do you think it's also a coincidence that the box was left in the Great Hall? Do you think whoever left it is looking around their trunk trying to figure out where they misplaced it?"

Minerva gave him a look. "That's different."

"Is it?"

"It is," Minerva said, glaring at him. "Sirius -"

"Maybe it was him who brought the package in to begin with," Sirius continued.

"Sirius!"

"Sirius, don't say that," Isobel said softly, looking down at Lucy with a sigh. "He's come to see her almost everyday. He loves her and would never do anything to hurt her."

"No, listen. He's a guard," he continued. "He could probably get a package in."

"Guards are checked too," Minerva said with a frown.

"He's really smart. Always has been," Sirius insisted. "He probably came up with a way to get it by the other guards."

"Sirius, I was aware of your suspicion of Remus so I did my own investigation and found no evidence that Remus was the spy," Minerva implored. She sighed and looked down at Lucy, taking her hand in her's. "Mother is right. Remus would never do anything to hurt Lucy. He's proven as much. He loves her and he's so good with her."

"He is very smart. Always has been," Sirius said again. "And what a better way to convince the Order he was trustworthy than to suck up to Minerva McGonagall's daughter."

"Sirius..."

"It's not really a surprise, I guess, that one of my closest friends would turn out to be the spy. I'm a pretty bad judge of character."

"Sirius, you're paranoid," Isobel said. "You're not a bad judge of character. You and Remus have been friends for so long. I've heard all the stories," she smiled a little, "all the complaints. You two have always looked out for each other. He would never turn his back on you and you him. You are allowed to have people in your life that you trust."

He didn't respond.

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "So nothing we say will ever convince you that he isn't the spy?"

He sighed and looked away. "I didn't want to believe it either but I don't see any other way," he said sadly. "He knew about your home in Rochester, he knew about Edgar's home, he knew about... Marlene's home... and he was there when Lucy let slip that you guys were going to up Castletown."

"His own flat was also raided," Isobel said.

"Good way to throw us off his trail," he replied. "Also, being at Hogwarts makes it easier for him to pick up information."

"But... Dorcas," Minerva said quietly, rubbing small circles on the back of Lucy's hand. "He loved her so much. He would never have given them the information that would get her killed."

Sirius didn't respond for a while. He stared down at Lucy and sighed. "People do horrible things to the ones they say they love."

"Sirius -"

"Ask my mother."

He got up quickly before Minerva or Isobel could say anything. "I hope Lucy and the others make a quick recovery," he said, still not looking at them. "I'm going to go check in on And and Dora quickly. I'll see you later, Minerva, Isobel."

"Goodbye, Sirius," Isobel said with a sigh.

"Take care of yourself, Sirius," Minerva said quietly. "Stay safe."

He nodded and left for the Tonks's bed.

Minerva looked at Isobel and sighed. Isobel reached out and took her hand. "It'll be okay," she said. "When we figure out who the real spy is those two will make up and be great friends once again."

Minerva nodded slowly. She looked down at Lucy and sighed again. "Since your house was overrun, she had a very hard time trusting people again. It's hard to show her that it's okay to trust people when so many people are starting to distrust each other."

"I know," Isobel said with a sigh. "She'll be okay. When she wakes up we'll make sure that she knows that it's okay to trust your friends."

Minerva nodded again.

Isobel checked her watch. "It's been a while," she said. "Maybe I should go check on Daniel and Nina."

"That's a good idea," Minerva said. "It's almost lunchtime."

"I'll find them," she said, getting up. She put a hand on Minerva's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "I'll be back soon."

Again Minerva nodded. She watched her go for a second before pulling her chair closer to Lucy's bed and took her hand again. "It's so hard right now, darling, to trust people and I know you were having a hard time too after what happened to your grandmother's house but we must still trust our friends. We need to find the people that are trustworthy and keep them close. Not push them away. This war has divided a lot of friends and families but the best way to fight it is together as one," she whispered though she knew Lucy probably couldn't hear her. "When you wake up I will stay with you so much more. No more running around outside of Hogwarts all the time investigating people that are our friends. I'll spend every night with you. I won't let you out of my sight."

She sat there with Lucy for a really long time until Isobel, Daniel and Nina came back. Minerva smiled when she saw them enter the room hand in hand. They had talked to each other, told each other how they felt, and now had a better understanding where the other was coming from. Daniel had explained that after everything that's happened and everything that they'd gone through he needed to keep the family together as much as possible. She understood and agreed that they should stay at Hogwarts. All she wanted to do was making sure that everyone was safe and if he thought Hogwarts was safe then she would agree to staying here.

Minerva was very relieved that the two had made up and that they were both onboard with keeping Lucy here at Hogwarts. Even with what happened she did believe that Hogwarts was the safest place for them. They would increase security and something like this would never happen again. Hogwarts was safe. She was sure of it.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, July 29th 1999_**

"No, I can put down this card and... block you?" Daniel said.

"You have no idea how to play this game do you," Nina said with a laugh.

"Not at all," he replied with a smile.

"Wait, I think I'm getting it," Isobel said with a frown. "He can't block you but doesn't that card beat your's because it's part of the royal family?"

"I think that we should just play a new game," Nina said with a laugh and a shake of her head as she started collecting the cards back up. Isobel sighed and handed her the cards in her hand. Daniel did the same though he looked very defeated over not being able to fully understand this new game.

Minerva looked at them over her newspaper, shaking her head but smiling. They were still sitting in the Hospital Wing by Lucy's bed trying to occupy themselves until Raj and Amelia got back from work. Minerva was about to say something when the curtain around the bed was pulled to the side and Dumbledore looked in.

"Minerva, could I please ask you to take a walk with me?" he said.

Minerva looked at him and saw the worry behind his eyes. She nodded, folded up her paper and got up. Isobel, Daniel and Nina watch them with concern.

"I'll be right back," she said as she followed Dumbledore out of the curtains and through the Hospital Wing. They walked quietly as not to disturb the other patients or families. When they finally got outside Minerva said, "What's happened?"

"London," he said, lowering his voice as they pass a classroom where people were talking and laughing. He led her through the Entrance Hall and out the front door. They stepped out into the cool night air and he finally turned to look at her.

"We're not going, are we?" Minerva said, feeling something in the pit of her stomach.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "There's been another large scale attack. Thirty three muggles and fifteen wizards. Right outside the Ministry building. Muggle news has blamed a gas leak."

"Forty eight people!" Minerva exclaimed. Her bad feeling validated. "That's three large scale attacks just in the last two weeks! The war is escalating!"

"I know," he said. "And we may not be able to hide it from the Muggles if it continues for much longer."

"What's our next move?"

He took a deep breath. "We may need to strengthen our offensive," he said. "I'm sending people in to join the Death Eaters."

"What! How will you manage that? Any Order member will be sniffed out right away!"

"I'm going to be talking with the recently graduated Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "The ones Horace was keen on."

"You're joking," Minerva said. "You're sending in children!"

"It's the only way, Minerva," he said. "They have people in our ranks and now we need people in theirs. Like you said, any Order member will be sniffed out immediately. We need to use someone who is unknown to both groups. It's the only way."

Minerva just stared at him for a long time before finally speaking. "We have worked hard with these children to try and show them that they do not have to join those foul monsters and now you want to turn around and tell them otherwise?"

"It's the only way."

"I have personally spoken with many of them, trying to convince them that they do not have to follow in their parents footsteps. I have tried to create an environment where they will learn that a person's value is not dependent on who their parents were and I even think I've gotten through to some of them."

"Yes, and I commend you for it but -"

"And now. Now you expect me to tell them to forget everything I said and join that group. Do horrible things and get into You-Know-Who's inner circle."

"For the greater good," he said. "As the Muggles say, 'the ends justify the means'."

"Do they? I am not in the right state to debate with you right now but making children kill in order to save others does not seem like the ends are justifying the means," Minerva spit.

"It's our best option at present."

Minerva shook her head and turned on her heel. She walked back into the castle, leaving him out in the cool summer night not trusting herself to speak on the matter any further. He watched her go without a word knowing full well that she would never come around to his side on this, even if it was the only option they had right now.

...

"Oh, thank god!" Nina exclaimed when Raj walked through the curtain towards Lucy's bed. She walked around the bed and hugged him. "You are so late! We were so scared that you may have been close to where the attack had been!"

"I'm very sorry for scaring you all," Raj said, hugging her back. "I wasn't close to the explosion. It's okay. I'm guessing it wasn't a gaspipe."

"No," Minerva said with a shake of her head.

He sighed and sat down in his chair. Nina went back over to Daniel. Raj looked around. "Where's Amelia?"

"She's okay too. She sent word that she was okay," Isobel said. "The explosion was right outside her building so we were all very worried. She should be here soon."

Raj nodded. He looked at Lucy. "Still no change?"

"No," Daniel muttered. "Absolutely no change. Whatsoever."

Everyone looked at Lucy and sighed. Things were just getting worse and worse. It was hard to absorb it all. It was hard to keep up with everything that was happening.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

"You wipe the tears away, you pick up the chocolate chips and you keep making cookies"

God, Nina's the best!

Thank you for reading and I hope that you liked it! Please leave a review telling me what you think! It makes me happy seeing that people are actually reading my story!


	30. TLT -- 30

_**Thursday, August 5th 1999**_

Minerva sat, leaning forward, with her elbows resting on her thighs and her head in her hands. It had been over a month now and still no antidote. Tensions were at an all time high and only getting higher the longer they went with no cure. Though Daniel and Nina had made up and were on good terms again finally, other couples were still having problems. More screaming matches broke out in the Hospital Wing that Pomfrey had to deal with. One had gotten so bad that Raj had actually gotten up to help calm the two parents down. Thankfully they listened to him, Madam Pomfrey was very grateful. People were beginning to lose hope that their children would ever wake up. Minerva was beginning to lose hope.

"Just wake up, please Lucy! Just wake up!" Minerva said, rocking back and forth a little in her chair. "Why won't you wake up?! I need you to wake up!"

Isobel put an arm around her. "Shh... it's okay. She'll wake up."

"When?!" Minerva exclaimed loudly, pulling away from her mother quickly and getting up. "When, Mother?! It's been over a month and still they've made no progress whatsoever! How can you be so sure she'll wake up at all?!"

"Minerva, please calm -"

"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm sick of everyone telling me to calm down and to not worry! I'm worried!" Minerva yelled.

Isobel stood up quickly and pulled the curtains around Lucy's bed so no one else couldn't hear their conversation. Minerva didn't care though. She knew that a lot of these parents were turning to her for reassurance but she couldn't take it anymore. A lot of people at Hogwarts looked up to her, maybe because she had been their teacher, maybe because she was close with Dumbledore, maybe because she was high up in the Order. Whatever it was, they put a lot of pressure on her to be okay for them. Pressure that she couldn't take anymore. She couldn't be prim and proper anymore. She couldn't put on a brave face for them anymore. She had to let herself feel her own emotions.

"Minerva, I know it's hard but she will get better. She will," Isobel said. "She has too."

"Why does she have to?" Minerva asked angrily. "The universe doesn't care how we feel. God doesn't give a shit about us."

"Minerva -"

"He doesn't. If he did do you think we'd be in this mess to begin with?!" she yelled. "Lucy doesn't have to do anything. We want her to get better. That doesn't mean that's she's going to... she might... she might... never wake up... she... I..."

Tears streamed down her face and Minerva looked away quickly. Isobel sighed and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Minerva moved away again. She walked up to the bed and sat down by Lucy's head. She looked at her tiny daughter in the bed. The burnt skin, the black marks, the red scars. Minerva wrapped her arms around Lucy and pulled her close to her, hugging her tightly. She looked up at her mother.

"Please... just give me some time alone with my baby."

Isobel stared at her for a second before nodding and leaving Minerva alone with Lucy still in her arms. As soon as the curtain closed behind her, Minerva moved so that she was more comfortable on the bed. She laid Lucy down in her lap and held her close. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she did her best to wipe them away

"Oh, darling," she whispered, pushing her hair back. Lucy's hair was still in all it's tiny braids that Amelia, Minerva and Raj had done. The beads made sound when they moved and hit each other. "I'm trying, Lucy. I'm trying really hard to keep believing but it's been so long and I'm so tired. I need you to wake up. I need you to open your eyes and talk to me. I need to hear your voice. You were my hope, Lucy, I told you you were and I wasn't lying. If you don't... if you don't make it... I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm going to hope."

Minerva sat there for a long time, whispering softly as she rocked Lucy in her arms. Finally the curtains opened again. Minerva looked up to see Daniel walk through.

"Is that really a good idea?" he asked, looking at his stepmother rocking Lucy back and forth.

"I just wanted to hold her," Minerva whispered, not looking at him. She looked down at Lucy instead. "Who knows if I'll ever get to do it again."

Daniel sighed and walked over to the bed. He sat down opposite her and looked down at Lucy too. He waited a second before holding out his arms for her. Minerva gave him a little smile and moved Lucy into his arms.

"I'm sorry," Daniel said suddenly, looking down at Lucy and not at Minerva.

"About what?" Minerva asked.

"For saying horrible things to you. I've said a lot this last six week and it was stupid and I shouldn't have said it," he said, looking up at her again. "And I never apologized. I'm sorry."

Minerva smiled at him. "That's alright. It's been a very stressful summer," she said. "We've both been under a lot of pressure. I'm not angry at you."

"It's just... I already forgave you. I shouldn't be bringing it up again," Daniel said with a shake of his head. "It's stupid. You've apologized and I accepted your apology. It should be over now. I shouldn't bring it up."

"It's okay, Daniel. Really," she said, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm.

"I wish he was here," Daniel whispered. "He would know what to do. What to say to make us feel better."

"He would," Minerva said with a sigh. "I wish he was here too."

"I'm also sorry for not being there when it happened," Daniel mumbled, looking back down at Lucy.

"It's not your fault."

"She asked me to come down and play with her but I said no," he said. "I said that I was tired and that I didn't want to play right now. If I had just gone down with her... I could have stopped them from playing with that stupid box. I could have prevented this."

"It's not your fault, Daniel. Hogwarts is supposed to be a place where children can play without having to worry about stuff like this," she said. "Neither of us thought twice about letting her go to play alone."

"Not now though."

"No, I'll make sure there's always someone with her from now on," Minerva said softly, reaching out and caressing Lucy's cheek a little. She looked at Lucy again, sighed and shook her head.

"Isobel told me what you said," Daniel said.

Minerva sighed again. "She shouldn't have."

"That's what people kept saying when Dad was sick too. That he had to get better," he said. "He had to get better. He had kids. He had to get better. Then he didn't. And I was so angry because he had to get better. Everyone said so."

"Oh, Daniel."

"I don't know if this is that different than before," he continued. "Everyone keeps saying it is but I don't know. I do know that hope is hard though. I know that life's unfair. I know that things happen that suck for stupid reasons like this war. But we don't give up. Collins don't give up. I know that no matter where Lucy is in there, she's not giving up so we shouldn't either."

Minerva smiled a little. "You're right," she whispered. "Collins don't give up."

"Dad survived in the hospital for a lot longer than the doctors thought he would after the lung transplant didn't work," he said softly. "He didn't give up. He kept fight. Even if it took so much out of him to do so."

Minerva sighed. "I really am trying not to give up hope, Daniel," she said softly. "I really am."

"I know," he said. "Me too."

...

"Are you starting to lose hope too?" Amelia asked softly as she took a sip of her tea. It was a little after dinner and she and Raj were sitting outside on the front steps of Hogwarts. The cool night air helping them clear their head after being stuck in that stuffy, tense, Hospital Wing.

Raj sighed and shook his head. "I'm not allowed to give up hope."

Amelia gave him a look. "And why not?"

"Because both Daniel and Minerva are starting to so I have to keep hoping. For them. For Lucy. We can't all give up," he said.

"You are allowed to feel how you feel, Raj. No matter how they may feel."

"No, you don't understand. It's different when it's just you," he said. "It's different when all you have to worry about is yourself. When you start having to worry about children it gets more difficult."

"I worry about them too," Amelia said with a frown. "I don't just worry about myself."

"I know. That's not what I'm saying," he said, not looking at her. "It's just different. That's all."

Amelia sighed. She looked away too. "I remember," she said, a little smile appearing on her face, "you telling Jay and Minerva when she was pregnant with Lucy that you never wanted to be in their position. You never wanted children."

Raj smiled a little too. "I didn't," he said. "Then I got them anyway. Not that I regret it, of course. I love them all."

"Daniel, Lucy and Nina are great kids."

"They are."

"And they are very lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have them too," he said. "I hope Lucy wakes up soon. I don't know how much longer we can all keep on like this."

"Me too."

...

Minerva blinked a couple times and looked around. It was very dark. She was still sitting by Lucy's bedside in an uncomfortable chair. She must of fallen asleep but she wasn't exactly sure what had woke her now. She looked around and saw the others fast asleep now as well in their own chairs and smiled a little bit. Lucy had a lot of people staying with her and waiting for her to get better.

Minerva had glanced around Lucy's bed when suddenly something caught her eye. She quickly turned back and saw a man standing in the corner of the curtain. He gave her a little smile and ran his fingers through his messy black hair. His grey eyes shone in the dark.

"I'm still dreaming," Minerva whispered.

"Maybe," Jay said, giving her a crooked smile as he walked up closer to the bed. He looked at Lucy and his smile faded away. "Oh, Kitten."

"You're not real," Minerva said, rubbing her eyes and trying to make herself wake up. She couldn't do this. She couldn't talk to him. It hurt too much.

"I'm glad Daniel and Nina are still together," he said, ignoring her and looking over at his son with a smile. "I told him to keep her around. She's a good one."

"Jay... is this... are you real?" Minerva asked, tears filling her eyes.

He looked over at her and gave her a little smile. "Does it matter?"

She stared at him. He walked closer to her, around Amelia and Raj, until he was right between her and the bed. She reached out and touched his chest. She expected the fingers to go right through but they stopped. She felt the cotton of his dress shirt, the hardness of his abs, the warmth of his body. The tears over flowed from her cheeks as she stood up quickly and hugged him tightly. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her as well.

"I'm so so sorry," Minerva whispered into his chest. "This is all my fault! If I had just been there! If I had known! I could have... done something! Saved you!"

"It's alright, my love," he said with a smile. She looked up at him and he cupped her cheeks with his hands, wiping her tears away. "What happened, happened. It doesn't matter now. What matters is you are here. Here for Daniel and Lucy."

"So much that did," she muttered. "All I've done by coming back is put them in more danger. We haven't been back to Collins Mansion in a whole year because the Death Eaters found out about them. Daniel and Nina have to hide out in Canterbury and Lucy and I don't get to see them very often. Raj absolutely hated me for a while, he's come around now thankfully, and now... now Lucy's... Lucy's like this."

"This is not your fault. None of those things are your fault," Jay said softly. "I'd bet everything I have that even though all this has happened, Daniel and Lucy are still so glad that you came home."

"I needed them. I'm afraid my selfishness has put them in danger."

He laughed. "How selfish of you for wanting to be there for your children."

This made Minerva smile a little. She reached up and caressed his cheek. It felt so real. She felt the stubble of his beard, the warmth of his skin. She leaned up and kissed his lips. It had been so long. So long since she had gotten to do that. Much too long. He smiled into the kiss and ran his fingers through her hair.

When they finally pulled away, Jay helped Minerva back into her chair before moving closer to the bed and putting a hand on Lucy's cheeks. "She's breathing."

"She is," Minerva said. "Barely."

"But she is," Jay said, looking back at her. "We've been here before. It worked out then. Why wouldn't it work out now?"

"It's different now," Minerva whispered. "I was younger then. There was no war. You were here. It was easier to hope."

Jay gave her a little smile. He pulled over an empty chair that Minerva hadn't noticed before and sat down in front of her. "I recall you having trouble then as well," he said, taking her hand, "and I told you that you were the one that was supposed to have faith, not me."

"I believe you called me Mrs. daughter and sister of Reverends," she said with a small smile. "Not the most sensitive thing to say to a worried mothers whose daughter is fighting for life in a hospital, I must say."

He smiled his adorable crooked smile and Minerva shook her head. "You've always had more faith than me, Jay," she said softly. "You've always had more faith in the world, in people, in things turning out alright in the end than I did. Nothing has changed, the only difference now is there isn't anyone here to stop me from spiraling into a pit of despair."

"Look around, Min," Jay said, "all the people that were there then are here now. You have so many people to talk to. To stop you."

Minerva felt the tears in her eyes and she shook her head. "I don't want to talk to them," she whispered. "I want to talk to you. You're the only one who could ever make me feel better. You're the only one who ever knew how."

"They'll learn. Just like I did. If you let them."

"You didn't learn. You just knew."

"You don't think I had to learn the art of Minerva McGonagall?" he asked with a laugh. "You are a complicated, real person. It takes time to know you. It took me time, maybe less than others but still time."

Minerva smiled a little bit. "I guess it always just felt like you were perfect," she said. "You are very good at learning on the job."

"So are you," he said with a smile. He looked back at Lucy and he sighed. "Back at St. Mary's you asked me how I could be so confident that things would get better and I will tell you now what I told you then. I have faith in our daughter. She is strong, I know she is, and she's going to fight this. I believe she will."

"I'm not giving up on Lucy," Minerva whispered. "I'm never going to give up on her."

"That's good to hear," he said. "Take it from me. Never bet against Lucy Collins. I lost a hundred quid that way."

"You bet against your own daughter?" Minerva asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"It was more of Raj telling me I owed him a hundred quid than an actual bet," he said with a laugh. "It was after yet another call from a very frustrated teacher about Lucy not doing her homework. Raj told me that some children with higher IQs sometimes get mistaken for having learning disabilities because their work is not challenging enough to hold their attention. I said I would take her to a child psychologist to see what was going on and he said that if Lucy was bumped up in school I would owe him a hundred pounds."

"And she was," Minerva said with a smile.

"Five whole years," Jay said proudly. "Best hundred pounds I've ever lost."

Minerva laughed. She shook her head and looked over at Raj. "He has done so much for us," she said. "And he's still doing so much more."

"I know," Jay said, looking back at Raj too with a smile. "He's a great man. I am so thankful that I had the pleasure of knowing him. He took care of them from the very beginning. Never even asked him to. He just stepped up. I will forever be indebted to him."

"I appreciate everything he's done," Minerva said. "I don't know what we would have done without him. He does so much for us. Lucy and Daniel both love him so much."

"I'm glad that you two are getting along with each other again as well," he said with a knowing smile.

"I am too," she said. "It wasn't a great time when we were at odds with one another. I called him an asshole on multiple occasions. He accused me of trying to take Lucy and Daniel away from him. It was not great."

"No," Jay said. "I'm also glad that he knows about magic now. You know how much it killed me not being able to tell him!"

"I know," Minerva said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It wasn't even the only secret. Magic, S.H.I.E.L.D., probably other things," he mumbled. "I really let him down."

"No, you didn't," she said. "He loves you and he understands why you had to keep some things from him. He's an adult. He understands how complicated things are and he doesn't blame you for them."

"I hope not."

"He doesn't."

There was silence for a little while before Jay smiled again. "Him and Amelia, huh?"

"Won't be long now, I'm sure," Minerva said with a small smile. "They just need to talk to each other, that's all."

"We've been saying that for ages."

"Yes, but now it's different," she informed her husband. "Now he acknowledges his feelings. I don't think he'll be able to hide them now for very much longer."

"What are we talking? Days? Months? Years?" Jay asked. "I need a timeline."

Minerva laughed. "I would say months. I would prefer days but I don't think that's realistic," she said. "Who knows. They've been coming here every night to see Lucy. If Lucy stays like this for much longer it might happen sooner."

"Who did her hair?" he asked, pointing at Lucy's braids.

"Amelia started and then Raj and I helped," she said with a smile. "She taught him. It was actually quite cute to watch them."

He smiled. "I was always rubbish at doing her hair," he said. "You should have taught me before you left so I could have actually done it for her. She was always a little sad about not being able to do her hair up in nice hairstyles like the other girls at school."

Minerva sighed. "There are a lot of things I should have done."

He gave her hand a little squeeze. "I love you."

She looked at him and smiled. "I love you too," she said. "I miss you so much."

"I miss -"

Suddenly he was cut off and Minerva felt her body shake. She felt him let go of her hand and when she opened her eyes she saw that the Hospital Wing was brightly lit by sunshine coming through the windows and the curtain had been pulled away from around Lucy's bed. Jay was nowhere to be seen and there was no empty chair in front of her or around her. She looked beside her and saw Amelia was shaking her shoulder. She smiled at Minerva and Minerva felt so much anger towards her friend. How dare she wake her up. How dare she take her away from him.

"Good morning," Amelia said, much too cheerfully. "You wanted me to wake you up before I headed out, remember?"

"Oh, right," Minerva said, sounding a lot grumpier than she had intended.

"It's still quite early," Amelia said with a frown. "I'm sure your work can wait if you would rather sleep a little longer."

"No, it's fine," she muttered. It was ruined. She wasn't getting back to that. She knew it. "How's she? Has her condition changed?"

Amelia looked back at the bed and shook her head sadly. "No," she said with a sigh. "Still the same as yesterday. I'm going to go back home so I can get ready for work, okay? I'll see you tonight."

Minerva nodded. "Alright," she said, straightening up a bit and looking over at Lucy in her bed. "Stay safe, Amelia."

"Always," she said with a smile, before heading out.

Minerva looked around at the others who were still asleep around her. She sighed, pulled her chair up closer to Lucy and took her hand. "I have faith in you. I may have doubted before but not anymore," she whispered. "I have faith in you, Lucy Marie Collins. You are strong, I know you are, and you are going to fight this. I believe you will."

Minerva couldn't be sure if it was lack of sleep, her mental state just not being what it used to be, or her just completely imagining it, but she was sure that for a second, just a second, she felt Lucy give her hand a faint little squeeze. Whether it was real or imagined, it made her happy. Whether it was real or not, it felt real and that's all that mattered right now.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday, August 10th 1999**_

"I did it!" Horace exclaimed, bursting in through the Hospital Wing doors carrying two large vials in his hand. He raced towards Pomfrey's desk.

Minerva looked over at him, eyes widening, and jumped up immediately. She ran over to the desk as well. Minerva was very aware of all the eyes on them when she made it to the desk and said, "You - you found an antidote?!"

"I did," he said proudly with a bright smile on his face as if he weren't right now standing in a room filled with children who had been unconscious for nearly two months. "It was just a matter of determining that there were Elder leaves in the poison. Once that was confirmed I -"

Pomfrey snatched the vials out of his hand quickly, having no time to listen to his silly story, and held them up to the light, inspecting them. "These will wake them up?"

"The red one will heal their lungs and wake them up and the purple is for the burns," he said. "I doubt they'll be ready to get up and leave as soon as the potion is administered, they will need time for the red potion to fix up their lungs completely, but they will be awake which is a -"

Pomfrey didn't need to hear anymore. She flicked her wand and each vial was poured evenly into nine different cups. She directed her Healers to take the potions to each child. Minerva followed the Healer assigned to Lucy back to the bed and watched tentatively as the healer pulled out a large needle. She sucked up of the purple potion with the syringe first and took Lucy's arm. Gently she poked the needle into one of Lucy's veins and pushed down on the syringe. Minerva watched the potion take effect almost instantly. The burns on Lucy's face and arms slowly got absorbed back into her skin. The red roughness disappeared, leaving nothing but soft caramel skin. A smile crept to Minerva's face. It was working! Slughorn's potions were working!

The Healer removed the needle and threw it in the rubbish bin before pulling out another and repeating the process with the red potion. They all held their breath as the potion went into Lucy's system. Nothing happened for a long time. Minerva looked around the room and saw that everyone was experiencing the same disappointment. After the fast action of the first potion they had expected much of the same from the second. Isobel gripped her chair tightly. Nina bit her lip and took Daniel's hand. He gave it a little squeeze. Everyone had become dead silent as they waited to see if the potion took an effect.

Suddenly they heard a cough from the other side of the room. Everyone turned to see one of the boys in the coma open his eyes and cough violently before settling down and giving his parents a weak smile. His parents cried and hugged him. Then another child went off and then another and another. Finally Minerva heard the Lucy's voice. She turned around and saw Lucy turned slightly, coughing up black smoke. The Healer jumped out of the way quickly as not to be stampeded over by Minerva as she rushed to Lucy's side.

"Lucy, my darling! Oh you're alright!" Minerva exclaimed, tears filling her eyes as she pulled her daughter into a hug. Lucy groaned a little and Minerva let her go immediately. "I'm sorry. Does it hurt? Where does it hurt?"

Lucy blinked a couple times, letting her eyes adjust to the light, and looked around frantically. She felt dazed and confused. Tears had welled up in her eyes but she wasn't sure why. Her chest felt like it was on fire and she couldn't remember anything after she had been playing cards with Tonks. She tried to lift her hand up to her face but it felt really heavy and sore. Every breath hurt and her skin was tingling.

"What happened? Where am I?" she said in a raspy, groggy voice, not registering any of the lights and sounds in the room. Her eyes were still adjusting and coming into focus. Slowly the faces of the people around her unblurred and she saw Minerva, Isobel, Daniel and Nina. They were all looking down at her with concern.

"You're in the Hospital Wing, sweetheart," Isobel said. "You're at Hogwarts. Don't worry, you're safe."

Daniel walked closer to the bed and kneeled down so they were face to face. He took her hand and gave her a little smile. "Something happened and we had to bring you here," he said softly, "but you're okay now. You don't have to worry."

"We're so glad you're awake, sweetheart," Minerva said, putting a hand on her cheek gently.

"Yeah, you had us worried for a bit there," Nina said with a small smile and tears in her eyes. "You've been asleep for a long time."

"How long?"Lucy asked, looking up at her mother.

"Almost seven weeks," Minerva replied.

"Seven weeks!" Lucy exclaimed before having another coughing fit.

"Careful, just relax," Isobel said. "You're still recovering. Try not to overexert yourself, love."

When she recovered from her coughing fit she slowly said, "Seven weeks is a long time."

"You're kind of like Sleeping Beauty," Nina said, trying to make Lucy feel better.

This made Lucy smile. "I'm like Princess Aurora!"

"Yes," Nina said with a smile.

She thought about this for a second before her smile faded away and she made a face. "Oh gross, no one kissed me did they?"

Everyone laughed. Minerva smiled, taking this as a sign that Lucy was quickly improving. She shook her head. "No, no one kissed you, but... now I think I'm going to."

She leaned down and kissed Lucy's cheek. Lucy made a face and pulled away a little which made her groan in pain again. Minerva stopped and pulled away.

"Where does it hurt?" Minerva asked with a frown.

"Everywhere," Lucy muttered.

Minerva sighed. "It'll be alright. They'll give you some potions and you'll be good as new in no time, love," she said. She looked over at Isobel, Daniel and Nina. "I'm going to go talk to Poppy quickly."

They nodded and she gave Lucy one last kiss on the head before heading over to where Pomfrey and Slughorn were standing. Dumbledore had also now joined them. He gave her a small smile.

"Everything seems in order," he said, looking around the room and watching families hug their now awaken children. "How long before they will be good as new?"

"A couple of weeks, I would say," Slughorn replied heartily. "I'll bring up some more of the Pulmosanitatem Potion. If they take a dose every day they should be all better by the end of the month."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore said.

Minerva sighed. Lucy wouldn't be out till the end of the month. She thanked Slughorn for his work, talked with Dumbledore and Pomfrey for a bit before walking back to Lucy's bed. Lucy was listening to Isobel, Nina and Daniel filling her in on everything she missed while she was in her coma.

Minerva sat back down in her chair and said, "Alright, you'll have to take a potion everyday but soon enough you'll be good as new and ready to get out of here."

Lucy nodded.

They sat there talking for a while before the Hospital Wing doors opened again and in walked Raj. He walked over towards the bed and when he saw Lucy his eyes widened and a huge smile came across his face.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed, coming over to the bed and giving her a hug. She giggled a little as he kissed her cheek.

When he pulled away she wiped her cheek with her hand and said, "your beard is bigger now. It tickles."

He laughed and pulled up a chair. "So, I missed a lot it seems."

"Horace brought up the antidote a little earlier today," Isobel said with a smile. "Oh, Lucy, did you know Raj helped do your hair like that?"

Lucy felt the braids in her hair and shook her head. "No way," she said. "Uncle Raj doesn't know how to do braids."

"Hey, I'll have you know -"

"Amelia taught him," Nina said with a laugh.

"Oh, that makes more sense," Lucy said with a laugh. The laugh ended in a coughing fit and Lucy frowned.

"It'll get better, don't worry," Minerva said softly, putting a hand on her arm.

Lucy looked away. She looked at her bedside table that was still littered with cards, stuffed animals, and colourful flowers. She pointed at a small light brown bear. "Mum said you got that for me," she said, looking back at her uncle. "Thank you."

"Of course," Raj said with a smile. "You know, Anne's been calling asking me about you."

"Really?"

"Yes, I've told her that you weren't feeling well but thankfully now you're okay," Raj said. "I'll let her know that you're better."

"Can I see her?" Lucy asked, looking over at Minerva.

"You'll be out of here before school starts. You'll be able to see her then," Minerva said.

"Oh," Lucy mumbled.

"Uncle Raj and Amelia have been coming by every night to see you, you know Lucy," Daniel said. "And Isobel came up from Edinburgh to stay with us while you were sick."

"We all just wanted to make sure you're okay, my love," Isobel said with a smile. She pulled her chair closer to the bed and reached out for her.

Lucy took her hand. "I'm glad you're here."

Isobel smiled. She leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad I'm here too."

After a little while Amelia arrived too. She saw Lucy on the bed and smiled, dropped her things and raced over to her. She gave her a hug and kiss.

"I'm so glad you're okay, my darling," she said. "Aren't you good at giving us a scare."

Lucy smiled and hugged her back. Amelia sat down in a chair as well and Lucy looked around at everyone around her bed. There were a lot of people here to make sure she was okay. It made her happy to know that she had so many people around her who wanted to keep her safe.

They had dinner around Lucy's bed like usual, her being awake this time definitely made the experience much better. Soon it got very late and Minerva sent Daniel and Nina to go to sleep in their bedroom. She told Isobel to take her bed, still worried about her mother sleeping in these uncomfortable chairs every night. They put up a little bit of a fight but eventually agreed and left. Minerva tried to get Amelia and Raj to go home as well but they weren't budging, wanting to stay here with Lucy. Lucy told them that she would be fine and that they could come back tomorrow after work. Finally they also agreed, said their goodbyes and walked out of the Hospital Wing, Amelia offering to Apparate Raj home as well.

Lucy was still awake. She looked around the Hospital Wing quickly before Minerva pulled the curtains around her bed to give them a little privacy. She saw a lot of kids still awake as well, talking to their parents and just not wanting to go to sleep. All of them probably thinking along the same lines as her.

Minerva pulled the curtains around them and sat back down in her chair. She gave Lucy a small smile and whispered, "It's getting quite late. Everyone is asleep. You should try to get some rest too."

"I'm not tired," Lucy whispered back. "I've been sleeping for like two months. I'm not tired."

Minerva gave her a small smile and took her hand. "You should try though. Sleep will help you get better faster."

Lucy took a painful deep breath, tears filling her eyes again. She looked down at her hand in Minerva's and whispered, "but what if I don't wake up again?"

Minerva sighed and gave her gave hand a little squeeze. "That won't happen, darling," she said reassuringly. "I promise."

"How do you know?" she asked, looking up at Minerva. Tears rolled down her cheeks now. Minerva sighed, pulled her chair closer and cupped Lucy's cheeks in her hand, wiping the tears away.

"It's okay, my love," Minerva whispered. "I know it's not going to happen because we all worked very hard to make sure it won't. Professor Slughorn made a potion that fixed you right up so you don't have to worry anymore. Tomorrow morning the sun is going to shine in through that window right there and you'll wake up to see me right here, okay?"

Lucy nodded, putting her hand on her mother's. "Okay," she said. Minerva smiled and helped her get into bed, pulling the blanket up around her. "Don't leave."

"Never," Minerva reassured her.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, love," Minerva whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

...

"She's awake," Raj said with a smile as they walked through warm Hogwarts grounds. They had made it to the Great Lake and Raj stopped to look over the water.

"She's awake," Amelia said happily, nodding her head. She stopped beside him and looked up at the starry sky. "Thank god."

Raj looked over at her and smiled. "You were worried."

"And you weren't?" she asked, turning to face him and raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," he said, turning to face her too.

"Not at all?"

"Not even a little bit," he said, moving a little closer. "Never bet against Lucy Collins, I always say. That girl's stronger than anyone I've ever met."

Amelia smiled and nodded again. She looked up at Raj. They were standing quite close together now. "She's really something," she said quietly. "And so are you. You have to be quite strong not to give up hope like that."

"Eh, it was nothing."

"No, it was something."

Raj smiled and shook his head. He looked away and watched the light of the moon dance across the lake. "In times like these," he said softly, "it's easier to hope when you have amazing people around you that make you want to hope for something better."

"Something better for all of us," Amelia said with a small smile. "For everyone here at Hogwarts. That would be nice."

"This summer has been long but it's over," Raj said. "We can relax a little. Even if it's not much, it's still something."

"It's definitely something."

"Amelia?"

"Yes?"

Raj took a deep breath. "I love you."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "You - what?"

"I love you," he said, looking down at her and giving her a smile. "I'm not good at this whole love thing and I've never really had a long term relationship but I know that I love you. I know that I miss you when you're not around and I love talking to you on the phone every night. I love the way you laugh. The way you can find the positives in almost every situation. I love how you make me want to be a better person. I love the way you make me believe that there's something better for all of us. I don't need to hope when I'm with you. I just know."

Amelia smiled, leaned up, cupped her hands around his cheeks and pulled him into a kiss. This caught him by surprise but he regained composure and reached up to run his fingers through her hair. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She smiled into the kiss.

For the first time in a very long time everything felt still. The whole world felt calm. The crickets chirped around them and the stars twinkled in the sky. The moon shone like a spotlight, illuminating just the two of them. It felt real. It felt right. It felt like home.

They pulled away and Amelia kept one of her hands on his cheek. She smiled at him and whispered, "I love you too. So much."

He smiled. "Let's go out Friday night," he said. "Just the two of us. A real date."

"That sounds lovely," she said with a smile.

"No fast food this time," Raj said. "Real food. A real nice sit down restaurant."

"I'll be fine with anything as long as I'm with you," Amelia said with a smile. She moved closer and hugged his chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. This is where they belonged. This is where they fit.

...

Days past and Lucy and the others started getting a lot better. It no longer hurt every time they tried to breath and they didn't feel sore everywhere anymore so movement was easier. They still had to remain in the Hospital Wing however as Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep an eye on them and wanted to make sure they took their potions.

Lucy had been frightened to go back to sleep the first couple of days but after a while she started feeling more comfortable again. In talking with Andromeda and some of the other parents, Minerva found that the other children affected by the attack had also felt the same way. As they took their potions and they began to feel better though they all began to feel safe and happy again.

Neither of them remembered exactly what happened. Trevor Kilian could not say for sure where he had found the package so was not much help when Minerva and Dumbledore tried to get some useful information out of him. Even though they had not been able to get more information, Minerva was a little glad that the children didn't remember what happened. It made their mental recovery quicker. They always felt safe here at Hogwarts, even if their parents and a lot of other adults were having their doubts.

Tensions had lessened since the children awoke. There were still murmurs of doubt and a couple of fights between couples here and there but nowhere near as bad as it used to be. A little less than two weeks into August Molly Weasley gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Ginevra. The new baby seemed to lift the spirits of everyone at Hogwarts. Arthur brought his daughter over for Lucy to meet and Lucy did her best to not show how uncomfortable she was with this baby girl laying in her lap.

Lucy celebrated her eighth birthday in the Hospital Wing a couple days later. Minerva was a little sad that she had to celebrate it while laying in a hospital cot but Lucy didn't seem too concerned about it. Remus stopped by to say happy birthday and gave her a stuffed teddy bear that Lucy loved. Charlie and Bill gave her cards that they made and Molly gave her a maroon sweater with a gold L on the front that she had knitted for her. Ted carried Tonks over so the two girls could see each other for the first time since the incident. Amelia and Raj were there to celebrate as well. They had cake and ice cream. Lucy had a great birthday, even if she did have to spend it in the Hospital Wing.

Raj and Amelia went out for dinner a lot and spent a lot more time together. Minerva and Isobel were starting to have their suspicions but neither said anything. Finally the day came when Raj and Amelia decided it was time to tell Minerva and everyone else that they were now together. They prepared themselves for the 'I told you so's, which turned out to be a good plan as there were a lot of those. From Minerva, from Isobel, from Daniel. Either way it was nice for them to tell everyone and be more open about their relationship. Minerva gave them both a very excited hug, Daniel told them it was about time, and Isobel and Nina were so happy. Lucy was very happy too. She told them that she knew they liked each other too. Apparently Minerva had told her. This revelation earned Minerva a nasty look from Amelia which only made Minerva laugh.

"You're right, you're right, you're all right," Raj said, a huge smile on his face and an arm around Amelia's shoulders. "I've loved her a long time and I should have told her a long time ago. I know but all that matters now is that we're together and that I've been treating her to some very nice restaurants."

"Well, I would sure hope so," Isobel said. "You better be treating my daughter as well as she deserves."

Amelia smiled, walked over, and took Isobel's hands. "You know the only reason I've been friends with Minerva so long is because of you, don't you?"

Minerva gave her a look but Isobel laughed and gave Amelia's hands a little squeeze. "You will always be my daughter," she said with a smile, "even if you don't want to be friends with Minerva anymore."

"Oh, excellent!" Amelia said with a laugh. Minerva gave her another look and Amelia shook her head. "No, if you're not around then who's going to annoy me about going after one man or another."

"I've only annoyed you about the one," Minerva said, motioning her head to Raj. "I am honestly the person who has been working the hardest to make this happen. You two should really be thanking me."

Raj laughed and sat down in his chair bedside Minerva. "Thank you, Min," he said, "for knocking some sense into me."

"It must have been hard to get it though that thick skull," Daniel said with a laugh, earning himself a look from Raj.

"Oh, it was," Minerva said with a laugh.

"Well, I'm really glad you two finally got together," Nina said happily. "You're very good for each other."

"I'm glad too!" Lucy said with a smile. "You can appreciate Aunty Amelia's love the way she deserves."

"Thank you, Lucy," Raj said with a smile. "Thank you, Nina."

"Now, enough about us," Amelia said, pulling away from Isobel and sitting down on the bed next to Lucy. She put an arm around her and pulled her close. "I want to hear about your day, love. What did you do today? How are you feeling?"

Lucy smiled and hugged her Aunty Amelia. "I'm good! I'm getting better!" she said happily. "I think I'll get to leave soon!"

"We were able to go for a walk today," Minerva said with a smile.

"And I didn't have a coughing fit!" Lucy said.

"That's wonderful!" Amelia said.

Lucy told her all about her day. She had gone for a walk through the castle with Minerva and Isobel and played some more games with Daniel and Nina. She was getting a lot happier now that she could move around a bit more without having trouble breathing or getting chest pains. Everyone was very glad to see how quickly she and the other children were improving.

About a week before September Daniel and Nina had to leave for Canterbury. They apologized profusely to Lucy for having to leave but Lucy just laughed and told them it was okay. She told them to have a good year, gave them a hug. Isobel had decided to go back to Edinburgh to be with Malcolm and the others. She said goodbye to Lucy, apologizing as well, before they headed out. She Apparated Daniel and Nina to Canterbury first before Apparating back to Edinburgh herself.

A couple of days after Isobel, Daniel and Nina left, Lucy and the other children were discharged from the Hospital Wing. It didn't take too long after that for them to go back to their normal, energetic selves. Before the school year started they were back running around, shouting and playing with the other children. The noise level of Hogwarts seemed to increase exponentially but Minerva didn't mind. She was just happy all the children were healthy and happy. That's all that mattered.

Soon school started up again and Lucy had started her ninth year. She was so excited to see Anne again. Remus was standing by Minerva's office door waiting for Lucy so he could Apparate them to her school in Rochester. Lucy was standing with her mother kneeling in front of her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm so sorry you didn't get to see Anne at all this summer, darling," Minerva said with a sigh. "I'm sorry you didn't really get a summer at all."

"That's okay," she said with a smile. "I'll see Anne today!"

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile. "Tell her I say hi and you can blame me if she asks why you two didn't get to see each other over the summer."

Lucy laughed. "Okay!"

"Have a nice day, darling. I'll see you tonight," Minerva said, giving her a quick kiss and getting up off the ground.

"Bye, Mum!" Lucy said, running over to Remus who gave her a smile.

"Goodbye, Lucy. Goodbye, Remus. Thank you again," Minerva said.

"Of course," he said, giving her a little salute. Lucy waved and they walked out of the office, closing the door behind them. Minerva smiled, picked up her things and headed down to her own classroom.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

It's happened! It's happened! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review telling me what you think!


	31. TLT -- 31

_**Saturday, September 18th 1999**_

Lucy and Charlie laughed as they watched Tonks change her appearance to look like Bill's. Bill gave her a look and she copied. They were outside today. It had been a nice day so they had been able to convince their parents to let them play on the grounds. The sun was set now and the crickets had come out. It wasn't cold yet so they were still running around.

"You're so weird," Bill muttered, not very amused by Tonks's trick, having seen it so many times before and always on him.

"You're so weird," she copied in a very bad Bill impression.

"You need to work on your impression if you want to pull that off," Charlie said with a laugh.

Tonks turned back into herself and smirked. "I think that I sounded just like him!"

"Yeah, no," Bill muttered.

Lucy laughed. "What? Bill, you don't think you sound like a girl?

"Definitely not," he replied, puffing up his chest a bit. "I'm a man!"

Lucy and Tonks laughed. Lucy shook her head. "Okay, whatever you say," she said with a smile. He gave her a look but she ignored him. "So, anyways, what should we do now?"

They shrugged and she frowned. They tried to brainstorm some new games they could play as the grounds got darker.

Andromeda and Minerva were sitting on a picnic blanket nearby to watch them. Molly had to stay in to keep an eye on her younger children. Minerva had her papers and quill out, not wanting to waste time, while Andromeda was lounging, leaning back on her hands and watching as fireflies started coming out. She saw the children walking towards her and waved. The kids waved back. They looked around at the fireflies too and Charlie wasted no time challenging everyone to a firefly catching competition. Andromeda conjured up some jars for the four of them and they got to work, running around and giggling. She watched them with a smile before looking over at Minerva and frowning. Andromeda reached out and nudged Minerva with her elbow.

"Come on, Minerva. You can't take one night off?"

"Work piles up," she muttered, not looking up from her paper. "I've been putting off school work seeing as the year only just started so that I could focus on Order business but now it seems it's piled up."

"You put off work by doing more work. That's not really the same. You should take a break," Andromeda persisted. "Look, Lucy just caught three fireflies."

"Excellent," Minerva said absentmindedly, still not looking up.

Andromeda looked over and raised and eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes and said, "oh, now she's eating them all, one by one."

"That's nice."

"You're not even listening to me!"

Minerva didn't respond. Andromeda sighed and looked back over at the children running around. She gave Minerva a nasty look before getting up and picking up Lucy's camera.

"Hey, let's get a picture with your fireflies," she said with a smile.

"I think I caught the most," Tonks said, holding up her jar triumphantly.

Lucy looked closely at it and counted the flies. "You got eight. I only got six."

"I got six too," Bill said. He pointed to Charlie with his thumb and laughed. "He only got four."

"They didn't listen to me!" Charlie exclaimed defensively. He brought his jar close to his face and glared at the bugs flying around inside. "I only like animals that listen."

"You like dragons. They don't always listen," Bill said with a laugh.

"Dragons are different. They're cool."

"Fireflies are cool!" Lucy said. "They're the real stars."

Andromeda smiled. "Yes, fireflies are very cool. Now, come on and get together and I'll take a picture of the four of you."

They all got closer together, holding their jars of fireflies up to the camera. They smiled big smiles and Andromeda took the picture. It developed out of the front of the cameras and she took it. She looked it over and smiled. "You look lovely. Want to see?"

They nodded and ran forward so they could get a closer look. Bill looked at it and laughed. "Charlie, you look angry."

"No I don't. You look stupid," Charlie replied.

Andromeda rolled her eyes at the two boys but smiled. She handed the picture over to Lucy so she could put it in her album.

"Thank you," Lucy said.

"Of course," Andromeda replied with a smile. "Why don't you go put that in your book and while you're over there tell your mother to put her papers down for just five minutes. She's going to work herself to death!"

"Okay," Lucy said happily, running towards her mother. Minerva was still sitting on the picnic blanket doing some marking now. Lucy ran over to her and shoved the jar of fireflies in front of her face. "I caught six fireflies!"

Minerva looked up and smiled. "That's wonderful, darling, but I really -"

"And we took a picture," Lucy interrupted, holding up the photograph Andromeda took.

Minerva took it from her and looked at it. "That's nice."

Lucy sat down beside her and opened her backpack. She pulled out her photo album and opened it up. She held her hand out for the photograph. Minerva returned it to her and she put it into the book. Minerva looked down at it and smiled.

"You've almost filled that whole book."

"Yeah, I might need a new one soon!" Lucy said with a smile. She flipped through the pages. "Look, I took this photo of Harry and James yesterday. They're making the same face."

Minerva looked at it and watched James contort his face to make the same grumpy face that Harry was making before bursting into laughter. She smiled and shook her head. "He is ridiculous."

"A little bit," she said with a laugh. "Look, this one is of Ron after he made Ginny cry."

Minerva looked at that photo and saw a one year old with bright red hair looking down angrily at his crying baby sister. She laughed. "What did he do?"

"I don't know," Lucy replied with a laugh. She closed the book and put it back into her bag. She stood up and said, "I'm going to go back and play."

"Okay," Minerva said with a smile.

"Mrs. Tonks says that you should put down your papers for just five minutes or you'll work yourself to death!" Lucy said.

"Good to know."

"So, you'll take a break?"

"No."

"Okay," she said, not seeming too concerned with this response. Minerva smiled and watched her run back towards her friends. "Bye!"

"Bye, Lucy," Minerva said with a smile.

She got back to her work while the children continued to play. Andromeda had giving up on Minerva and was sitting on the grass with the children. She was using her wand to conjure up birds to fly around the kids. They laughed and watched the birds. They also released the fireflies they caught and watched them fly up into the air to join their friends.

Suddenly Bill pointed his finger up at the sky towards Hogsmeade. "What's that?"

They all turned and looked to see eerie green clouds come together to form a skull with a snake coming out of it. Andromeda's heart stopped for a second as she sat there in shock. She finally regained control of herself and stood up quickly.

"We have to get inside, quickly," she said, grabbing Tonks's hand. She looked back at where Minerva was still sitting. "Minerva!"

Minerva looked up to see what they were shouting about. Andromeda pointed behind her. Minerva looked back and her eyes widened. She stood up quickly and used her wand to clean up everything into Lucy's bag. She picked up the bag and ran towards Andromeda and the children. She grabbed Lucy's hand with one hand and Charlie's with the other.

"Let's go," Minerva said. "Quickly."

Andromeda took Bill's hand too and dragged them towards the castle, Minerva following behind with her kids in tow. Lucy looked back at the clouds with a frown.

"Professor McGonagall, what do those clouds mean?" Charlie asked.

"Um," Minerva said, looking back at the clouds. "It means that it's dangerous to be outside right now so we have to go inside."

"Dangerous?" Lucy whispered.

"We'll be fine inside the castle," Minerva said. "Don't worry."

They made it into the castle and into the Great Hall where everyone had gathered, running around and speaking frantically. Bill took Charlie over to where Molly and Arthur were and Andromeda took Tonks over to her husband. People were frantically trying to figure out what was going on.

"Have you seen?"

"Death Eaters in Hogsmeade!"

"Three Order members dead!"

"Bellatrix Lestrange... and maybe You-Know-Who himself!"

Lucy moved closer to Minerva. "Mum... what's going on?"

"I don't know, love," Minerva said, looking around trying to find Dumbledore but it didn't seem like he was here yet. She did, however, see Remus running towards them. "Remus, where you down in Hogsmeade tonight?"

He nodded. He moved closer and whispered, "Death Eaters came in great numbers. A lot like how they did in Castletown."

"Was... was he actually there?" Minerva whispered back. She was trying to talk too quietly for Lucy to hear but she wasn't sure if it was working. It wasn't. Lucy craned her neck so she could hear everything.

"No," he replied. Relief filled Minerva and she let out the breath that she had not been aware she was holding. "But... there were a lot of them. They came quickly and... a lot of people died. Three Order members. Burgis, Kris, and Lien."

"Oh no," Minerva whispered. "Where's Albus?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since I got back," Remus said. "We sent word when we realized that we couldn't hold them off. They had us vastly outnumbered. Dumbledore came out himself and was able to scare a lot of them away. We caught some of them but most of them got away."

"How many... how many died?"

"I don't know the final tally," Remus muttered. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "It - it was a lot. They blasted most of the Three Broomsticks and a few other shops while people were still inside."

Minerva closed her eyes too. She reached up and rubbed her face, thinking about what she needed to do next. "Okay," she said finally, very aware of Lucy and Remus's stares. "Okay, everyone is scared and the only one who will be able to calm them down is Albus. I'll go find him. Lucy, please stay here with Remus. I'll be back soon."

"W-what! No, please don't leave!" Lucy exclaimed, holding onto her mother's hand tightly. Tears were falling down her cheeks. "Please, it's dangerous! Please don't go!"

Minerva sighed and kneeled down. She cupped Lucy's cheek with her free hand and wiped her tears away. "It's okay, my love," she said. "I'm not going far. I'm not leaving the castle. I'll be back very soon. Remus will stay here with you."

Lucy let go of Minerva's hand. Minerva gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead quickly before getting up again leaving the room to find Dumbledore. Remus sighed and kneeled down too. Lucy moved closer and hugged him.

"It's okay, Lucy," he said. "She'll be okay."

Lucy cried into his chest and he sighed. He looked around the Hall. You could feel the tension in the air. Remus knew what they were thinking. Was Hogwarts no longer safe? Were the Death Eaters planning an attack on Hogwarts? Was this attack just to test out their defenses? Will they return with more numbers and maybe even Voldemort himself? Remus didn't want to think about what would happen if he came here. He had seen the damage they had done to Hogsmeade. Half of the Three Broomsticks collapsed, killing everyone sitting inside, drinking and just trying to escape the war for a while. Shop windows broken, people slaughtered, kids... kids killed. He had seen it all, he still saw it when he closed his eyes and he did not want that to happen to Hogwarts as well. There were a lot more children here than there were at Hogsmeade. A lot more unsuspecting people and protections that would make it impossible for people to Apparate to get away.

Remus spotted a mess of black hair in the corner of the room. Sirius was standing, leaning his back against the wall watching the craziness. Their eyes met and Remus tried to invite him over with his eyes but he just glared and turned away. Remus sighed. He had tried so hard to have Sirius trust him again. It wasn't even his fault that the Death Eaters tracked him down in Essex. He wasn't the turncoat. He had done everything to prove that but Sirius wouldn't listen. He was still so angry after Marlene's death and wasn't thinking straight. He seemed to be looking for evidence to support his theory and, if he couldn't find it, fabricating his own. Sirius probably thought that Remus had something to do with what happened. This idea made Remus so angry. He had done so much, lost so much, and still this man, who he thought was his friend, didn't trust him.

"Remus?" Lucy whispered, pulling Remus out of his angry thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What were those clouds?" she asked, pulling away a little bit. "I've seen them before. They've been on the news and in the papers since I was little. What are they?"

"That's - that's called a Dark Mark. Death Eaters cast it," Remus mumbled.

"What does it mean?"

"When a Dark Mark is hanging over a building," he said with a sigh, "you know that the Death Eaters killed someone in there."

"Are - are they coming here?" Lucy asked, looking very scared, more tears flowing down her cheeks. She buried her face in his chest again.

"No, no," he said quickly, giving her a little squeeze. "We were able to get rid of them. They ran away and I don't think they're coming back."

The Great Hall doors opened and silence fell over the Hall. Dumbledore and Minerva walked in. The first looking calm and collected and the second looking very worried. Everyone looked at them expectantly but Minerva ignored them. She left Dumbledore to deal with the crowd while she ran back to Lucy. Lucy let go of Remus and hugged her mother instead. Minerva hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"There was an attack in Hogsmeade tonight. At the moment the Ministry is working hard to identify the victims and help the survivors," Dumbledore said loudly. People who had friends or family visiting Hogsmeade today burst into tears. Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment before continuing again. "This attack was very close to home but I assure you -"

"Is Hogwarts not safe anymore?" a man yelled from the crowd.

"We came here because we thought our children would be safe here!" a woman who was holding a baby cried. "Were we wrong?"

"Are they coming here? Is it true that hundreds were killed?"

Dumbledore tried to calm the crowd. "I assure you that we will up security -"

"What good will that do? If they want to come they will come!"

"You-Know-Who is winning! What are we going to do? We're losing too many people!"

Minerva could not believe these people. There were children around listening to this. Their children! They needed to stay strong for them. She looked down at Lucy who was still crying and gave her a little squeeze. "Shh, it's alright, darling," she tried to sooth her daughter but the hopeless yelling made it very hard. "We'll be -"

"We're losing this war! We're all going to die!"

"Enough, we are not -" Dumbledore tried but was cut off yet again.

"How can we win this? We are fighting a losing battle!"

"Maybe we should just surrender! Maybe he'll let us live if we surrender!"

Lucy looked petrified. "Mommy... are - are we going to die?" she whispered.

"No, no, darling," Minerva said quickly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We're not going to surrender. We're not going to die."

Remus looked around. People kept shouting and Dumbledore kept trying to calm them down to no avail. Children were clinging to their parents, crying and looking absolutely horrified. Mothers and fathers were trying but failing to hold it together for their children. Wizards and witches were trying to yell over each other. Remus put a hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"The way I see it," Sirius Black said suddenly, pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning on in the corner of the room. Everyone turned to stare at him as he walked forward, arms crossed and wand in hand. "We have two options. Keep fighting for what we believe in or lay down our weapons and surrender, letting those who died die in vain."

Nobody spoke a word. They kept staring at him. Lucy moved closer to Minerva and hugged her tightly. Minerva put a hand on the back of her head. Sirius walked to the centre of the room and looked around at the fearful faces.

"We were all drafted into a war we did not want," he continued. "A war that started when we were much too young to understand anything going on outside these castle walls but we fight anyway because we know it is right. We fight because we know that a person's value cannot be judged by their blood. We fight because we know that we can create a world better than the one we have right now. So let us mourn those we lost. Let us mourn our fallen friends, families, and loved ones. Then let us stand up and keep fighting." He looked around at the children in their parents arms. "For the ones that are still here. And for the ones that are yet to come. For a world that will be bright and beautiful where our children will play without having to worry about who their parents are. I have not lost hope for that world and nor should you."

Minerva stopped hugging Lucy and stood up. Lucy clung to her legs still and Minerva put a hand on her head. "He's right," she said. "We can't lose hope. Without it we will have nothing."

Sirius looked at her and smiled. She gave him a small smile back.

"Security will be increased," Dumbledore said, finally able to finish a sentence. It seemed that the people didn't need reassuring words from him. They needed reassuring words from someone they could identify as one of them. Dumbledore had become somewhat of a legend over his time so he could not tell people not to be scared. They would not believe him because nothing scares Albus Dumbledore. Sirius on the other hand was just a man doing what he could. They could relate to him so his words of hope drove home more meaning. Dumbledore was glad that he stepped up. He could feel the tension in the room decrease ever so slightly. "Not just at the gates or in Hogsmeade but inside the castle as well. We will not be left unprotected, I promise you. This attack was serious and brutal but we will not let it crush our spirits. We will not surrender. We will fight and win this war. Hug your loved ones tightly and the try to get some sleep. Hogwarts will always remain a beacon of hope and light no matter what may happen outside its walls."

People began to relax a little bit. Dumbledore and Sirius's words helped a lot. Dumbledore had the House Elves bring tea and hot chocolate for everyone to help calm their nerves a little bit more. Minerva picked up a mug from a nearby table and handed it to Lucy. She grabbed one for herself and they sat down on the steps of the stage the staff table usually sat. Lucy leaned in close and Minerva put an arm around her. They watched people talk in hushed voices or leave to try to get some rest. Remus had headed out to take up his guard post at Hogsmeade. Sirius had also left to do the same but he waited till Remus was well underway before walking out himself, not wanting to risk conversation. Minerva watched them and shook her head. Now was not a time to turn on friendships. She sighed and looked down at Lucy.

"Would you like some more marshmallows for your hot chocolate, my love?" she asked. Lucy nodded slightly and Minerva used her wand to float a few more marshmallows into the mug. Lucy took a slip before leaning her head down on her mother's side. Minerva smiled and gave her a little squeeze. "Today's been a crazy day but we're okay."

"They keep coming," Lucy whispered, staring down at her hot chocolate. "When - when will they stop?"

Minerva sighed. "I don't know, love. I don't know but they will. We will beat them and then they'll stop. It just takes time."

* * *

 _ **Thursday, October 14th 1999**_

Minerva ran up through the hallways towards the Headmaster's office. She yelled the password at the gargoyle and climbed up the stairs quickly. The war had gotten even worse in the few days since the attack in Hogsmeade. The Death Eaters had been getting more confident. More Muggle villages had been raided, more Order members had been attacked, more people had died, and Minerva had been in Dumbledore's office more and more recently. She burst through the door to find Dumbledore sitting at his desk waiting for her. They both started at each other for a moment before either one of them spoke.

"Tell me it isn't true," Minerva whispered. "Frank and Alice..."

Dumbledore shook his head. "A fate worse than death."

Tears filled Minerva's eyes. "They... their minds?"

"Gone."

"But the healers at St. Mungo's!" Minerva exclaimed, tears falling down her cheeks. "They could - they could help... they could do something!"

Again Dumbledore shook his head. "They are doing what they can but... it's not something that can be easily fixed by casting a spell or drinking a potion."

Minerva didn't say anything. She looked away wiped the tears from her face. She thought about Frank and Alice Longbottom. They were some of the bravest and smartest Aurors she had ever met. They were kind and thoughtful and courageous and did not deserve this. She had yet to visit them in St. Mungo's because she just couldn't. She couldn't see the minds of two of the brightest Order members destroyed.

"Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange have been arrested."

Minerva nodded a little, still not looking at Dumbledore. "What about the baby? Neville," she asked. "Where will he go?"

"Augusta has taken over his care," Dumbledore replied.

"That poor child."

There was a long silence. Neither of them knew what to say. Minerva had heard of others being tortured into insanity by Death Eaters before. Bellatrix Lestrange was infamous for doing this. She just never thought it would happen to any of them. To anyone on the Order. She had worried about her friends' deaths, about them getting injured. Losing body parts like Moody. But she never thought about this happening. It just never crossed her mind. Now she had more to worry about.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey, it's been a while and I apologize for the wait. Things have been... well, crazy. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review letting me know what you think. It makes me happy to read your reviews :)


	32. TLT -- 32

_**Monday, October 18th 1999**_

A few days later, Minerva was sitting in Dumbledore's office again when the door of the office opened again and James and Lily walked in.

"You wanted to see us, Professor," James said.

Dumbledore nodded and motioned for them to sit. They did and he went into the story of his night at the Hogshead, interviewing potential candidates for the Divinations Professor position, a year ago.

"It seems that, unbenounced to me, an intruder was listening in and heard part of the prophecy," Dumbledore said. "He brought the information back to his Lord and he believed that either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom was the boy mentioned in the prophecy."

"That's why Alice and Frank were attacked," Lily whispered.

Dumbledore nodded. "The informant told me that after the attack, You-Know-Who marked Harry as the Chosen One."

"Harry..." Lily said, looking over at James. James took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Wait," James said, looking very confused. "This man who overheard you... he told You-Know-Who and then came back and told you that Harry was his target?"

Dumbledore nodded making Minerva frown. "Albus, who is this informant?"

"At present that is not important," he replied. He turned back to James and Lily. "What is important is that the two of you are in great danger. I would suggest moving somewhere safer and using the Fidelius Charm. I would more than happy to be your Secret-Keeper."

"Okay," James said. "Okay, we can move back to Godric's Hollow. Into my parent's house. That will probably be safer than London."

Lily nodded. "Yes."

Minerva was still looking at Dumbledore with a frown. She wanted to know who this informant was. She did not agree that it wasn't important right now. "I agree," she said, "that we should take precautions. Lily and James, you two should go to Godric's Hollow but how can we be sure that this informant of your's is trustworthy, Albus? He was obviously working for You-Know-Who just a little while ago!"

"Who is he, Professor?" Lily asked.

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a second before sighing and saying, "Severus Snape."

"What!" James exclaimed angrily, standing up quickly. His eyes were wide and he looked absolutely furious. "Snape! He hates us! How could you trust him?"

"Professor, I know Snape. He has proven himself to be untrustworthy on multiple occasions," Lily said almost frantically. "I would not share Order secrets with him or trust the information he provides if I were you."

"I trust Severus," Dumbledore replied. "I had my doubts the same as you but he proved himself. In the week since he brought me the information on the prophecy, he also gave me information that led to the arrest of many Death Eaters and even the death of a few. People I had once thought were his friends."

"He turns on everybody!" Lily exclaimed. "I don't trust him. Please, sir, listen to me. I've seen what he's capable of. Don't tell him Order secrets. We already have a leak problem in the Order don't bring in another."

"Lily, I assure you -"

"No," James said. He grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her up. "We will go into hiding. We will keep Harry safe but if this is the kind of people you keep your trust in, Professor, I cannot in good conscious make you the Secret-Keeper protecting my family. Sirius would rather die than give us up and he's planning on going into hiding as well after they found his flat last week. We'll make him our Secret-Keeper. Come on, Lil."

With that they left the office, slamming the door behind them. Dumbledore sighed and looked at Minerva for reassurance but she just glared at him.

"Just because I have not stormed out of here as well doesn't mean I approve of this," she snapped harshly. "All the work we've done, Albus, could be all for naught if we put our trust in one wrong person! We are in a very precarious position and one wrong move can bring this all tumbling down."

"I trust Severus, Minerva. I know you don't understand but I do. And I believe that if you meet him, you will understand why I do," he replied calmly. "You will meet him this Saturday. You will be seeing a lot of him from now on so I suggest going in with an open mind."

"I don't want to meet him. He was a Death Eater, Albus! How many people, how many Order members, friends, family, do you think he killed or watched die?! I don't want to meet him and I don't want him anywhere near Hogwarts!"

"Minerva, you will meet him and afterwards we can discuss this further," Dumbledore said with finality. "If you recall, Horace is planning on retiring and Severus had quite the gift for -"

"No!" she exclaimed, standing up quickly and slamming her hands on the desk. "Albus! You want that man around children! He is a Death Eater!"

"He is no longer a Death Eater."

"But he was!"

He was starting to get angry now too. He stood up too and in a louder than normal voice said, "We have all done things -"

"Not those things!" Minerva yelled. "You are putting everyone here at risk! All the students! All the people that came here thinking you would keep them safe! They trust you! Not Snape!"

"Minerva, that's enough!"

"Is it! Because you seem to think that -"

"I said enough!" he yelled, uncharacteristically harshly. She stopped, taken aback by his tone. He stopped too. He sat back down and she followed suit, putting her head in her hands. Her and Dumbledore's relationship had been feeling a lot of strain recently. The pressure of the war and Dumbledore's more and more outlandish ideas were driving a rift between them. He sighed, feeling the tension too. "I apologize. That was childish."

"I apologize as well," she said with a sigh. It was getting harder and harder to make up after a yelling match but she respected him and did not want to lose him as a friend so she was able to swallow her pride. "I am sorry that I implied you did not care about everyone staying here. I know that you do."

"Please understand that I would not be bringing Severus here if I didn't one hundred percent believe that he was safe to be around," he said.

"I know," Minerva replied, "but don't you think that you're bringing him in too soon. Albus, I know Horace retires this year but everyone's still on edge from the Hogsmeade attack and the Longbottoms' attack. They're not ready to forgive this man right now. They need time."

"More time will only bring more attacks. There will never be a good time, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "They may not be able to forgive him right away but I'm sure in time they will come around too. Your meeting is this Saturday at nine in the Hog's Head. You can discuss all you like with him then. He may have some questions about the position that you will be able to answer and you can have him sign the documents that needs to be signed."

Minerva glared at him. "And if I don't show."

"That will be your prerogative," he replied simply. "Severus will be there waiting for you if you do choose to keep the appointment. He will leave his wand with Aberforth to make you feel more comfortable."

Minerva didn't respond. She got up and quickly left the room.

* * *

Saturday, October 23rd 1999

Minerva grumbled as she threw her papers into her desk and looked at the time. It was almost time for her meeting with Severus Snape and she still hadn't decided whether she was going to go. She still didn't want to be in the same room with this, probably, murderer but at the same time if Dumbledore trusted him there must be a reason why. Minerva sighed. She didn't want to speak ill of her ex-student but she didn't know what to believe right now. She supposed if she met him she would be able to decide for herself.

She, James, and Lily were not the only ones who took issue with this recruitment of Snape to the Order. Alastor Moody almost started a duel in the Headmaster's office when he found out. Sirius and Remus had both come by to try and convince Dumbledore that this was a bad idea. Amelia and Emmeline had been fuming after their meeting with Dumbledore. No matter how much they tried, Dumbledore did not budge. He still insisted that Severus Snape was trustworthy and that he had faith in him.

"Ready to go?" Lucy asked, coming out of the private room with her backpack on her bag. "Tonks is waiting."

Minerva sighed. She had set up for Lucy to stay the night with the Tonks's just in case she decided to go. She stood up and nodded. "Yes, love," she said. "Let's go."

"Mum, are you okay?" Lucy asked, frowning at Minerva. She noticed her mother was acting quite strange.

"Of course, love," Minerva said, giving her a small smile. She held out her hand. Lucy furrowed her brow but took her mother's hand.

They walked out of the office and towards the classroom the Tonks family had taken over. While they walked Minerva thought about what she had to do. She had to go meet the Death Eater, didn't she? Oh, sorry, ex-Death Eater. She hadn't left the Hogwarts grounds in a very long time and she was a little worried about going into Hogsmeade since the attack last month.

They made it to the classroom door and Minerva stopped Lucy before they went in. She kneeled down and took Lucy by the arms. "Alright, my darling," she said. "I expect you to behave for Mr. and Mrs. Tonks."

"I will," Lucy said with a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Minerva said. She sighed and pulled Lucy into a hug. "I love you, darling."

"I love you too," Lucy said, starting to get worried again. "Mum, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay," Minerva said, still hugging Lucy close. It wasn't like she was about to leave the safety and comfort of Hogwarts in favour of a war torn town to meet a, maybe, murderer.

Lucy frowned. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Oh, just some work," she said. She pulled away and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you soon, love."

"Bye," Lucy said.

Minerva got up and they knocked on the door. Minerva dropped Lucy off and headed out. She wrapped her travel cloak close around her and walked out into the cold. She walked through the grounds, saying a quick hello to Hagrid as she walked by. She made it to the gate and walked through.

"Hello, Alastor," she said. "Hello, Elphias."

"Minerva," Moody grumbled. "What are you doin' so far from Hogwarts?"

"I'm going into Hogsmeade."

"Why would you do a thing like that?" Elphias Doge asked with a shocked expression on his face. "It's still unsafe out there."

"I know, Elphias," she said with a sigh. "I'm meeting a friend of Albus's. Don't have much of a choice in the matter, I'm afraid."

"Yer not goin' to meet with that Snape fellow, are yeh?" Moody asked. "Don't like him. Gives me a bad feelin'. Don' know what Dumbledore's thinkin'."

"I am meeting with him," Minerva replied. "I'll see for myself what he's like and come up with my own opinions accordingly."

"Very open minded of you, Minerva," Doge muttered. "Better than I could do right now. And it's probably a good thing you didn't let Moody know where you were meeting him."

"Ha! Like I couldn' find yeh two if I wanted," Moody muttered.

"I should go," Minerva mumbled. "I don't want to be late for my engagement."

"Be careful, Minerva," Doge said, face softening slightly. "Wand at the ready at all time."

"Of course," she replied, giving him a little smile. "I'll see you both soon."

With that she headed down the dark path towards Hogsmeade. The cold winds chilled her to her bones as she walked. She pulled her cloak closer around herself at an attempt at warmth. As she walked she felt a drop of water hit her from above. She looked up in time to see the rain start to pour.

"Excellent," she muttered to herself as she lifted her wand up and used it to create a water umbrella above her.

She kept walking and made it to the small town. The streets were empty and the lights unlit. The darkness felt encompassing and suddenly Minerva began to worry that someone may be hiding in a dark corner waiting for her. She looked around the rubble that was still lying around. She saw the Three Broomsticks only half standing. Wood and stone rubble lying beside it. The shops around it also had parts of their buildings blown out. The Ministry did not have the time and resources to rebuild a village that had a high risk of being attacked again. The village was mostly empty now. Most of the residence had evacuated either to Hogwarts or other towns deemed much safer. The once buzzing, warm streets was reduced to nothing more than dirt and rubble.

Minerva made it to the Hog's Head and walked inside. The bell rang. Aberforth Dumbledore looked up from the bar and gave her a look. "Minerva."

"Aberforth," Minerva replied.

"You're later than expected," he grunted, looking back down at the glass that he had been cleaning. "Thought you might not be coming at all."

"Well, I came," she muttered. "Is he here?"

He nodded and pointed at the stairs with his thumb. "Room 4D."

She nodded and walked up the stairs. As she walked she heard voices coming from the room she was meant to enter. The walls of the Hog's Head Inn were definitely thinner than thin.

"She's not coming, Dumbledore. I told you she wasn't going to come."

"It's only been a few minutes, Severus. I'm sure she's on her way."

"Why would she come here? She hates me."

Minerva sighed and knocked on the door. The voices stopped immediately. The door opened and Dumbledore smiled at her. "Ah, Minerva. I'm glad you decided to come."

"Albus, I am cold, I am wet, and I am tired. May I just sit down for a second," Minerva said, already feeling very annoyed. All she wanted was to be in her warm bedroom listening to Lucy tell her about her day.

Dumbledore stepped aside and she walked into the room. She saw Severus Snape standing in the corner. She looked him over as he glared at her. That's something that hadn't changed. She didn't think it would have been a Transfigurations class without Snape scowling at her from the back row. She felt a pang in her chest. He looked thinner, weaker, and more tired.

Minerva sat down in an armchair and looked at Dumbledore expectantly. He smiled and motioned for Snape to sit down too. He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to sit across from her.

"Well," Dumbledore said. "I will leave you two to it then. I'll send Aberford with some of his finest scotch. I'll see you back at the castle, Minerva."

Minerva gave him a look but he just gave a little bow of his head and left the room. Minerva turned back to Snape, crossed her legs and waited for him to make the first move. He, however, made no move to begin a conversation. They sat there in silence for a long time before Aberforth came in without warning. He grunted a greeting and set the tray with a bottle of scotch and glasses on it on the coffee table between the witch and wizard. He left and Minerva leaned forward wordlessly to pour herself a glass. Snape did the same. They leaned back in their chairs and stared at each other once more.

Time passed and Minerva couldn't take it anymore. She downed the rest of her scotch and said, "Are we just going to sit here staring at each other all night?"

"Days if we have to, I suppose," he mumbled, looking down at his glass.

"I can't sit here for days with you, Mr. Snape," Minerva muttered, leaning forward and pouring herself some more scotch. "It may be news to you but I have other more important things to attend to."

"Right," he replied.

More silence.

"Alright," Minerva said, sitting up straighter in her chair. "I believe that you do not like me, Mr. Snape. Well, I don't like you very much at present either. So we can sit here, staring silently at each other or you can tell me whatever it is you have to tell me or ask me whatever it is you have to ask me. Then I'll have to sign the paperwork and we'll both be on our way."

There was a long pause. Minerva sighed. This was a mistake. She had all but given up and was about to stand when Snape spoke.

"You knew my mother, Professor," he said suddenly, shocking Minerva. She did not expect this. She expected everything from hateful silence to angry yelling but this, she had not expected this.

"I did."

"So you heard what happened to her."

"I did," she said again. "A shame. She was a very bright witch."

"So, you can't blame me for my views of Muggles," he replied, looking up at her finally.

Minerva frowned. "Not all Muggles are the same. Just as not all wizards are the same," she said. "Most Muggle men would not dare raise a hand to their wives."

"Right, you would know," he muttered. She glared at him. He shook his head. He was supposed to be civil. He had promised Dumbledore he would be civil. "Uh," he tried. "How... how are the kids?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "I know you don't care so I won't bore you," she replied, not wanting to tell him a thing about Lucy, Daniel or Nina. "Let's talk about what we're meant to talk about. You were a Death Eater. Why are you here now? You believe what they believe so why change sides now?"

He calculated his response carefully. "I do not believe what they believe."

"You do not believe that Muggleborns and Half-bloods are less that Purebloods," Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow. "You do not believe that wizards are greater than Muggles."

"I will not lie, I may have believed that at some point in my life and I may still believe it to an extent," Snape replied, "but I do not wish to be aligned with the Death Eaters."

"So you're a supremacist, just a moderate one," Minerva muttered, leaning back in her chair.

He glared at her. He was trying but she didn't seem to be trying back. He leaned back in his chair and looked away. "Have you not changed any of your own views since you were seventeen?"

Minerva sighed. He was right. People's views tended to evolve over time but not everyone signed up to kill people because of their prejudiced beliefs. "So you expect a job and a pat on the back for changing your genocidal views? A job with children, no less."

"I do not expect anything," he snapped. "I've never expected anything from anyone. All I did was come to Dumbledore to tell him that the Dark Lord was after the Potter's baby."

"After being the one who told your Dark Lord about the prophecy in the first place!" she exclaimed.

"A choice that I have come to regret."

"What did you say to Albus to make him believe you?" she asked haughtily. "Because so far I do not see what he saw. You have never cared for James Potter or any of his friends and you and Lily had a falling out if I remember correctly so why would I believe that you care about their son?"

"The boy is just a child."

"And how many children have died before now that you just ignored?"

"Fine! I care for her," he yelled angrily, glaring back at her. Minerva stared at him. He sighed and looked down at his glass again. "I care for Lily Evans," he continued, softer and more sincerely. "I have since the day I met her. I knew that he would kill her and I asked him not too but he doesn't care. So I came to Dumbledore to ask him to protect her."

"So you don't care about the child," she said glaring at him. He did not respond. She slammed her cup down on the table and stood up. She needed to get away from him before she did something she would regret. She walked towards the window. "And he wants you around children."

He stayed on his chair, watching her carefully. She stared out the window at what was left of Hogsmeade and sighed. "Last month a horde of Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade, killing sixty two people. Were you in that group?"

"No."

"I don't know what to say to you, Mr. Snape. Albus has hired you. He trusts you so I assume that he must believe your story."

"You do not."

"What's it matter if I don't?"

"Well, Dumbledore said that you would probably be dealing with parent complaints more than he would be."

She didn't respond.

"I also would like for you to believe me."

She turned and looked at him. "Why?"

"I respect you," he replied.

"I never got that impression while you were my student," she muttered.

"I do and I did then too. I was just young and stupid."

"You are still young."

"And stupid."

She sighed and turned back to the window. He was so young. Too young to do the things that they may have made him do. She took a deep breath and without turning around whispered, "I believe you."

She turned around and looked at him again. He didn't smile but he looked very relieved. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

"I believe you, Severus, and I will do what I can to protect you from angry parents and Order members. I will sign my name to your word but if you ever do anything to prove me wrong, if you ever do anything to bring harm to anyone at Hogwarts, I will find you and kill you personally. Do not take this lightly. This is not some empty threat. I am deadly serious so do not test me."

He nodded. She walked back over to her chair and picked up her bag. She pulled out the documents that he needed to sign and walked him through them. She also answered any of his questions about the position, there weren't many. Afterwards, she packed up her things and got ready to leave.

"You may not be one anymore, but you were a Death Eater so I have to ask," Minerva said, "do you know who the spy is in the Order?"

"Dumbledore asked me the same thing," he said, picking up his own travel cloak and putting it around him. "I do not."

"He still thinks you're a Death Eater," Minerva said.

"He does," Snape replied.

"How?"

"He thinks I am lying to get into the Order so that I can help him."

She looked at him for a second before shaking her head and looking away. "Well, he has a spy in the Order already. Can you find out who it is?"

"I will try," he promised.

Minerva nodded. "I will deliver your papers to Dumbledore and I will see you at Hogwarts next year," she said. She looked out the door and was about to leave when she decided to say what she wanted to say and turned back. She reached out and put a hand on Snape's arm. He flinched slightly but didn't pull away. "If you need anything... help making your lesson plan or... another bottle of scotch... let me know."

With that she left without waiting for a response. She quickly bustled down the stairs. She said a quick goodbye to Aberforth, getting only a grunt in response, and left the bar. She raced through the dark town back to Hogwarts.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Snape is a very complicated character to write and I hope I did him justice. I'm still on the fence with his character in general but whether or not he is good, he is definitely an interesting character.

My story is getting very close to coming to an end. I think the next chapter may be the last. I thank everyone for reading it and I really hoped you enjoyed it. I've never written this much before so I appreciate the support.

That being said, though this story is coming to an end, I have written other stuff in this au following the actual books. I've started writing Lucy's life during the events of The Philosopher's Stone book I don't know if you guys would want to read it but if you would let me know. Let me know if you would prefer it be posted in it's own story or in further chapters of this story. Leave a review letting me know what you think and if you'd want more.

Also! I wrote another short story about Minerva so if you're not sick of me yet and want to read more of my stuff while you wait take a look! It's called Seven Children and it's about a twenty one year old Minerva, three years after marrying Dougal McGregor. I'm actually quite proud of it and would love to hear what you guys think! Thank you so much for reading all my work, I really appreciate it!


	33. TLT -- 33

The Boy Who Lived.

* * *

 ** _Monday, November 1st 1999_**

The place was crawling with Aurors when Remus arrived. He ran up the path towards the little cottage with it's falling apart stone walls and thatched roof but was grabbed by an Auror.

"Let me go! Let me go!" he yelled, struggling against the Auror as another one came over to help control him as well. "My friends are in there! Let me go."

"Lupin."

Remus turned to see Moody wobbling towards him. His face was hard, expressionless. Remus stopped struggling and the Auror holding him back let him go.

"Are they..."

Moody shook his head. "They're gone."

Remus fell to his knees and put his head in hands. He let out a sob. Two of his closest friends had been murdered. So many people had died and he just couldn't take it anymore.

"The boy," Moody mumbled. "The boy lives. He survived."

Remus looked up quickly. "H-Harry is alive?"

Moody nodded. "Survived the Killing Curse with nothin' more than a scar."

"He - he survived..." Remus whispered. "Harry survived."

"You-Know-Who is gone. The war is over."

Remus pushed himself up to his feet quickly. "He's gone? How?"

Moody shrugged. "No one knows for sure," he said. "I'm sure Albus will have theories."

Remus looked back at the Potter's Cottage. "The war is over," he whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks. "The war is over."

"Gotta ask," Moody said. "Did yeh know who the Potter's Secret-Keeper was?"

Remus's face fell. He looked back at Moody. "Sirius was the spy..."

...

Lucy woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the clock on her bedside table and did a double take. She was so late. She got out of bed quickly and ran towards her mother's bedroom but when she reached it, she found it empty. Worry flooded her. What if something happened to her mother? What if the bad guys got into Hogwarts!

She ran towards the door of the private quarters and opened it. To her surprise Minerva was sitting at her desk, looking down at some papers. Lucy ran to her. "Mum! Why didn't you wake me up? I'm going to be late for school."

Minerva didn't look up at Lucy when she spoke. "Sweetheart, you're going to take the day off school today," she said. Her voice sounded a little off but Lucy couldn't put her finger on what exactly was wrong. She didn't sound sad but she didn't sound happy and it wasn't exactly neutral either. "Remus can't take you."

"Um, okay," she said.

"Mrs. Tonks will be here to take you down to play with your friends for a while," Minerva continued, still not looking at Lucy. "I have to go somewhere and may be gone for the rest of the day. Please behave for Mrs. Tonks."

"Okay," Lucy said again. "Where are you going?"

"Go get ready for the day."

"But -"

"Please go."

Lucy stared at her mother for a while before running back to her bedroom to get changed. When she came back to the office Minerva was gone and Andromeda was there waiting for her. She gave Lucy a smile and told her that it was time for breakfast and that Tonks and her father were waiting in the Great Hall already. Lucy tried to ask her where Minerva went but Andromeda just said she didn't know. Lucy didn't think she was lying but she had an uneasy feeling.

"She didn't say goodbye..." Lucy said quietly, looking down at the floor as they walked out of the office.

Andromeda looked down at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, love, she said that she'll be back tonight."

Lucy didn't respond. They walked downstairs for breakfast. The Great Hall was a buzz. It looked and felt brighter and warmer here than it had just the day before. Whispers floated through the air. Rumours spread like wildfire. The war was over they said. The fighting was done and Voldemort had been defeated. Lucy couldn't believe the news. She looked around and saw that she was not alone in her disbelief. Others seemed skeptical when the news hit their ears.

A hush fell over the Hall when Dumbledore stood up. Everyone stared at him, expecting him to dispel the rumours. "The rumours are true," he said instead with a smile on his face. "Last night the war was won. The Dark Lord has been defeated and the rest of his followers are being rounded up by the Auror Office as we speak. In celebration we will have a feast tonight and classes for the rest of the semester will be cancelled. The Hogwarts Express shall arrive to take anyone who wishes to take it back to London tomorrow afternoon.

"This war, though long and brutal, reminds us that love triumphs over darkness. It reminds us of the power we have when we stand together and the strength we have to fight for what is right. It was not easy, it was not quick, and it was not painless but things that matter rarely ever are. It was dragging and hopeless at time but it is over. We've gotten through it and are now standing at the edge of a bright, new world filled with tolerance and love. Today we shall celebrate for all those who fought to bring this war to an end. We celebrate all who were lost and all who have survived. Please enjoy your breakfast and enjoy the freedom and solace of knowing that you and those you love are now safe. Thank you."

There was a sigh of relief as everyone in the Hall let out the collective breath they had been holding. Lucy looked around and saw people crying tears of joy and hugging family members. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were hugging their children and smiling. Tonks was wrapped up in her father's arms and Andromeda kissed her forehead. The uneasiness in Lucy's stomach eased up a bit but it was replaced with something else she couldn't explain. She looked around more and saw no one she wanted to hug or talk to. No Remus, no Sirius, no James, no Lily, no Daniel, no Nina, and no Minerva. She had no one to celebrate the end of the war with. Andromeda pulled Lucy into a hug and kissed her cheek too but it still felt strange. She felt like she didn't belong. Like she was intruding on the Tonks family's celebration. She wanted her own family celebration but she was all alone.

After breakfast, Lucy followed the other children to the daycare classroom. The children ran around and played but Lucy wasn't really feeling up to it. She told Tonks, Bill and Charlie to play while she sat at a desk and did homework that she had been putting off.

Many families were already packed and ready to leave Hogwarts. Some parents had picked up their children, not wanting to wait for the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. The Weasleys had made plans to head back home right after the feast. The Tonkses were also leaving but they were thinking to leave before dinner. They missed their cottage and wanted nothing more than to have their house back. They headed out after lunch.

Lucy was hoping that she would see Remus, Sirius, James and Lily at the feast but they were nowhere to be found. Other Order members had come for the celebration but those four did not. Raj and Amelia came though. Amelia's younger brother, Steven, and his family came down to the feast as well. Steven had a wife named Poppy and a year old baby named Susan. Lucy sat with them at dinner and felt a lot better when her Aunty Amelia and Uncle Raj hugged her.

A lot of magic danced throughout the Hall. Wizards and witches were celebrating the best way they knew how. Fireworks were sent up to the ceiling. Candle flames changed colours. Glowing butterflies, birds, and fireflies flew through the Hall. One of the blue glowing butterflies came over and landed on Lucy's nose. She smiled and touched it but as soon as she did it bursted into a spray of blue sparkles. Toasts were made very loudly and more incoherently as the night went on and the adults drank more. Lucy thought she heard a toast to Harry Potter but she must have heard wrong. Harry Potter was just a baby. Why would they be toasting to him?

After the feast many more families left. The Weasleys headed out and so did Steven and Poppy Bones. Amelia and Raj stayed behind. She told Lucy that Minerva had asked them to stay with her until she came back.

They left the Great Hall while people kept partying as Amelia thought that it was time for Lucy to go to bed but when they got back to Minerva's private quarters Lucy refused to sleep until Minerva came home. She sat on the couch with her arms crossed and a grumpy look on her face.

"Come on, love," Amelia said for what felt like the hundredth time. "It's quite late. You need to go to bed."

Lucy shook her head. "No."

"Lucy -" Raj tried.

"No."

Amelia sighed. She sat down on the couch beside Lucy and said, "your mother is going to kill us. Will you please go to bed so that won't happen?"

"No."

"Come on, Princess," Raj said, sitting down on her other side and poking the grumpy little girl in the arm annoyingly. "Don't you want to help us not be murdered by your mother?"

Lucy smacked his finger away. She looked up at him, face softening a bit. "Yes but I need to talk to Mum before I go to bed," she said, uncrossing her arms. She sighed and lifted her arms up towards Raj. Raj smiled a little and picked her up into his lap. "I... I just need to talk to her."

"What's wrong, love?" Amelia asked, moving closer.

"Nothing, I just -"

"You can't lie to me, Lucy," she said with a knowing smile. "I know that something is wrong. Why aren't you happy? The war is over and you will probably get to go home soon."

Lucy sighed and looked up at Amelia, still hugging Raj's chest. "Where is she?" she asked. "Why isn't she here? If the war is over, why isn't she here celebrating with me like Mrs. Tonks and Mrs. Weasley were with their kids?"

Amelia sighed and put a hand on Lucy's back. "Your mum had some really important business to attend to," she said. "She wanted to celebrate with you but she said that she had something very important she had to do first."

"She's a very busy woman, you know that," Raj said, giving Lucy a small smile. "Sometimes that means she has to do things that she doesn't want to do instead of things that she really does. She said that as soon as she was done, she would hurry home so she could be with you."

"What did she have to do?" Lucy asked.

"She didn't tell us," Amelia said.

"Is what she's doing dangerous?" Lucy asked, fear in her eyes.

"Oh no, don't worry, love. It's not dangerous anymore," Amelia said with a smile. "She'll be fine and she'll be back soon."

"Okay," Lucy mumbled though she didn't seem very convinced.

"Hey, come on," Raj said, pulling her up so she was now standing in his lap. "You know your mum. She's a real badass -"

"Raj!"

Lucy giggled as Amelia gave Raj a look. Raj smiled. "Sorry," he said. "She's... a very strong and intimidating person. I wish any Death Eater luck crossing her!"

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Mum would beat them up!"

"Yes, she would," Raj said. "She doesn't like them, you know that. She would beat them up and then probably make them have a time out."

"Make them think over all the bad stuff they did," Amelia said with a smile. "Maybe make them write lines."

Raj laughed. "Arch her eyebrow at them," he said. "You know the look she gives us whenever we do something she doesn't like? It scares you doesn't it?"

"No, not me!" Lucy said, shaking her head. "I'm not scared of anything! Like Mum. Mum's not scared of anything."

Amelia smiled and shook her head as she moved closer and leaned into Raj's chest. Raj smiled at her and put an arm around her, the other still around Lucy. Lucy sat down in his lap properly again and they talked a little more. Lucy's mood had finally improved. She forgot all about her loneliness and excitedly told her godparents all about what she was going to do now that the war was over.

...

Minerva got back to Hogwarts quite late and heard the commotion still in the Great Hall. She shook her head and walked in the opposite direction. There was only one place she wanted to be right now. She walked up the stairs of Gryffindor Tower until she reached her office. She walked through the office and into the hidden door to the private quarters.

In the sitting room, Amelia and Raj were sitting on the couch talking quietly amongst each other. Lucy was fast asleep in Raj's lap. He had one arm around her and one around Amelia. They looked over at her when she came in and smile.

"She refused to go to bed," Amelia whispered as a greeting. "Wanted to see her mother before she did."

Minerva smiled a little before her smile disappeared and she sat down in an armchair with a sigh. "It's all true," she said softly. "They're dead."

Amelia sighed and Raj gave her a little squeeze. "But the boy..." she said quietly, looking at her friend intently, "is - is he...?"

"He is alive," Minerva replied. "He survived the killing curse with nothing more than a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead."

"Wow," Amelia whispered. She looked up at Raj. "That's never happened before," she explained to him. "No one has ever survived the killing curse."

"Wow," Raj said. "How did he survive?"

Minerva shook her head slowly. "No one really knows," she said quietly. "Albus said that Lily sacrificed herself in order to save him. He said her love protected her."

"In one night, Harry Potter has probably become the most famous wizard in our world right now," Amelia said. "Where is he going to go? Who is going to raise him? Sirius?"

Anger flashed across Minerva's face. "You forget, Amelia," she said dangerously, "who the Potter's Secret-Keeper was."

Amelia's eyes widened. She stood up quickly and was about to yell when Raj grabbed her hand and motioned to Lucy with his head. Instead in an angry whisper she exclaimed, " _Sirius was the spy_!"

Minerva sighed, tears filling her eyes, and nodded. "They're looking for him now," she mumbled, looking away. "But yes, he was the spy. All the safe houses that fell, all the missions that they knew about, all the people that died... all because of him."

"I - but - _Sirius_!" she exclaimed as quietly as she could muster right now. Lucy stirred a little and Amelia tried her best to lower her voice more. "Of all people... I never suspected... His best friend!"

Minerva nodded, tears falling down her cheeks now. "His best friend... his godson... he sold them out to his _lord_."

"He was great with Lucy," Raj said darkly, putting a hand on her arm protectively. "We let him near her. We left him alone with her all the time."

"I know," Minerva said. "I know. I trusted him with her. I thought he was... I thought he was different from the rest of his family... but I guess he wasn't."

Nobody spoke for a very long time. Minerva rubbed her temple with her hand and tried her best not to cry. She had been crying on and off all day and she didn't want to anymore. Amelia finally sat back down and Raj put his arm around her again. She leaned in closer to him and put a hand on Lucy with a sigh.

Finally Amelia broke the silence, looking up at her friend once again. "So where will Harry Potter stay?" she asked. "With Remus then?"

"No," Minerva muttered. "I wish. Remus would give him a much better home but he wouldn't take him even if Albus asked. I know he wouldn't." Minerva shook her head and looked away from Amelia. "Albus gave him to his aunt and uncle. Lily's sister. They're Muggles and... and I watched them. They seem terrible."

"That's where you were?" Amelia asked. "Spying on Muggles on a day where you should have been celebrating with your daughter! You could have been here with her or in Canterbury with Daniel and Nina but you chose to spend the day spying on them!"

"I couldn't let Albus give him away to people we had no idea about!" Minerva replied. "I had to see for myself how they were!"

"And what did that do?" Amelia retorted. "You thought they were terrible and Albus still gave him to them."

"I tried to stop him."

"You should know by now that Albus is going to do what he wants whether you like it or not," Amelia muttered.

"Okay, okay," Raj said quickly, trying to calm everyone down and lower the volume of the room as Lucy stirred again. "Let's just calm down a little."

"Why are you so angry that I wasn't celebrating?" Minerva snapped, ignoring Raj. "How can I celebrate? James and Lily are dead and they're dead because of someone they loved and trusted! Someone I loved and trusted and let around my family! No wonder they found us in Rochester and knew when to come when I wouldn't be home!"

"And James and Sirius just happened to be running late that day..." Raj said quietly, glaring at nothing in particular.

"But he was the one who sent word to you and Albus, wasn't he?" Amelia said, still having trouble believing this. "He and James got there in time to stop them."

"He probably couldn't stall James long enough and then had to act as if he were still on our side by that point," Minerva muttered darkly. She looked down at Lucy and sighed. "I let him near her. I let him play with her and look after her."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know," Raj said reassuringly. "I met him too. He was very convincing in his act."

"We all trusted him," Amelia whispered, tears filling her eyes. She turned away and buried her face in Raj's chest. He hugged her tightly. "He's - he's the reason Edgar... Karen, and the children... are dead! The reason Marlene, someone I thought he absolutely loved, and the rest of her family is dead! So many people are death because of him!"

"He came asking for another assignment right after her death," Minerva mumbled, wiping the tears off her cheeks and glaring at the ground in front of her. "I thought he just wanted to keep busy but now I think that he just wanted more information to give You-Know-Who. And everytime he tried to convince us Remus was the spy... he was probably just trying to get us off his trail. He never cared about any of his friends."

No one said anything and there was silence again.

Amelia looked down at Lucy, still fast asleep and unaware of what had happened. "She missed you," she mumbled. "Asked me why her mother wasn't here celebrating with her like Andromeda and Molly were with their children."

Minerva sighed. "I wanted to be here with her. I did." she said. "I just had to find out about these people."

"I know," Amelia said with a sigh. "How were they horrible?"

"Lily's sister, Petunia, has always disapproved of Lily's magical abilities," Minerva muttered. "I think she was envious, to be completely honest. She's always been very judgemental and nothing has changed now. Most of the day while I was watching, she was just spying on her neighbors or doting over her son. Dudley is his name and he's only a year old but already a very nasty little thing. Throws a lot of tantrums and is very violent towards his parents. They don't say anything to him. They reinforce this horrible behaviour. Spoiled him rotten already."

"Wow," Raj said. "The man as well?"

"Oh, yes. He's quite an angry man," Minerva replied. "Doesn't do much at all. Petunia will be running around, caring for the child, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, and he will be just sitting on the couch watching the news."

"Sounds wonderful," Amelia muttered sarcastically. She looked at Raj. "If you ever -"

"You don't have to worry about it, love. Never going to happen," he said with a smile. "There will be no child for you to take care of. Cooking and cleaning though..."

Amelia smacked his arm and Minerva smiled a little. "You two are crazy," she said. "I can't believe I wanted to combine your crazy."

"Yes, you're not allowed to complain," Amelia said. "This is what you wanted."

"I'm not complaining," Minerva said with a smile.

Amelia smiled a little and shook her head. Then her smile faded and she got serious again. "Anyways," she said. "Why is Albus leaving the boy with them if they're so terrible?"

"He wants Harry away from the wizarding world for now," Minerva said with a sigh. "He wants him to have as normal a childhood as possible for now. Probably doesn't want the fame to get to his head right away but if those two treat him like they do their own son, I fear he will already be entitled and arrogant by the time he gets here."

"Not unlike his father," Amelia said with a small smile.

This made Minerva smile a little. She shook her head. "I do not need another James Potter at Hogwarts."

"You will love him. Even if he is like his father. No, especially if he is like his father," she replied with a shake of her own head.

Minerva smiled and shook her head again. She then looked down at Lucy in Raj's lap and sighed a little. She got up and moved over to the couch beside Raj and ran her fingers through her baby's hair.

"She was worried about you, you know," Raj said with a small smile. "Thought you might be off doing something dangerous. We made sure she knew how badass her mother was and how she could handle her own against any Death Eater that might try something."

Minerva smiled a little bit and shook her head. "I hope you used a some more appropriate language," she said.

"Of course," Raj said. "I'm great at knowing how to talk to children, you know that."

Amelia gave him a look. "Lies."

"No, lies," he said innocently. "Only truths."

Amelia shook her head. "Lies."

Minerva smiled and gently picked the still sleeping Lucy up from Raj's lap. Despite Minerva's attempt at being careful, Lucy opened her eyes and looked around groggily.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, darling," Minerva said with a smile. "You fell asleep on the couch."

Lucy yawned and rested her head on Minerva's shoulder. "Where were you?"

"I had some work to do but I'm back now and it's time for you to go to sleep in a proper bed," Minerva said with a smile. She looked over at Amelia and Raj. They had both stood up now too. "Thank you for staying with her, Amelia, Raj. I really appreciate it."

"Of course," Amelia replied with a smile.

"It's always a pleasure to spend time with this little princess," Raj said with a smile, moving closer and kissing Lucy on the cheek. "Goodnight, love. We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Lucy nodded. "Night, Uncle Raj," she said. "Night, Aunty Amelia."

Amelia walked over and said goodnight to Lucy as well. They both said goodbye to Minerva as well and Minerva watched them walk hand in hand out of the private quarters with a smile before walking to Lucy's bedroom with her still in her arms. When she got there she put Lucy down on the bed and pulled the blankets up around her.

"The war is over," Lucy said, looking up at her mother and giving her a sleepy smile. "Uncle Abus said so."

Minerva smiled and nodded. "Yes, love," she said. "The war is over."

"It was long."

"It was," she replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pushing Lucy's hair from her face before resting her hand on her cheek. "But it's over. The bad people are gone and we can finally go home. Just in time for Christmas too."

Lucy smiled. "I'm glad that it's over."

"Me too, " Minerva said with a smile. "I'm sorry I didn't get to see much of you today but tomorrow I think you can take another day off school and the two of us will go down to Canterbury to deliver the good news to Nina and Daniel, alright?"

"Okay," Lucy said. "I can't wait to see them. We haven't gone since September."

"I know, love. Get some sleep now. I'll see you in the morning," Minerva said. She leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, my darling."

"Goodnight," Lucy whispered.

...

Minerva and Lucy appeared on the welcome mat of Nina's Canterbury apartment and knocked on the door. It was late in the day, Daniel and Nina were done their classes now so Minerva thought now would be a good time to stop by. The door opened and Nina smiled down at them.

"Hello! We were not expecting you two today," she said with a smiled.

"Nina!" Lucy exclaimed. She ran to her and hugged her legs.

Nina laughed and kneeled down to hug her properly. "Hey, Lucy."

"Hello, Nina," Minerva said, walking into the flat too and closing the door behind her. She looked around. "Where's Daniel?"

"He's not home yet. Had to hand in an assignment but he should be home soon," she said, straightening up and leading Lucy by the hand further into the flat.

"Nina! Nina! The war is over! We get to go home now!" Lucy said excitedly.

Nina stopped and turned. "R-really!?" she looked over at Minerva who smiled and nodded. "That's great! How? When?"

"The night before the last," Minerva said. "Ah, something happened and You-Know-Who lost all his power and disappeared."

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"No one really knows for sure," Minerva replied.

Nina gave her a look but Minerva just shook her head slightly when Lucy wasn't looking. Nina understood that she would be told the real answer later and so looked down at Lucy with a smile. She led them into the sitting room and brought out some tea and cookies for them while they waited for Daniel.

When Daniel returned Lucy told him about the end of the war too. He was just as excited as she was. He dropped his backpack and pulled her up onto his back, bouncing her up and down. She laughed while Minerva rolled her eyes but smiled.

"So... we can go back to Rochester?" Daniel said.

"Yes," Minerva said. "If you would like to. I thought that you might like staying on -"

"Let's pack up now and go!" Daniel interrupted, moving towards the bedroom. Lucy smiled and marched behind him. "Oh my god, I can't wait to be back home where I can actually have enough room to stretch my legs and we'll have a yard that I can sit in and actual windows that don't face other buildings and..." He saw Nina raise her eyebrow at him and quickly added, "not that your flat isn't great, love, I just... I'm just used to... It's not..."

"It's alright," Nina said with a laugh. "I get it. You've been slowly suffocating here, I know. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings."

Daniel smiled. "Thanks, Nina," he said. He looked down at Lucy. "Do you want to help me pack, kid?"

"Okay! I've learned a lot of new spells. Wanna see?"

"Sure. Just... maybe don't hurt my things," he said as they walked into the bedroom.

"I won't!" she exclaimed, following after him.

Minerva smiled and shook her head. She looked over at Nina and said, "We'll take the charms off of this place and I was thinking that if you wanted to, you could 'officially' move into Rochester Mansion with us. You would no longer have to pay rent for a flat you don't spend a lot of time in."

Nina smiled. "I would really like that. Thank you."

"Of course," she said. She reached out and took Nina's hand. "You've really become part of the family, Nina. I think of you as my own daughter now."

Nina smiled even wider. "Thank you, Min," she said. "I'm really glad that you do. You're like the white mother I never had!"

Minerva rolled her eyes but laughed. She let go of Nina's hand and got up so she could help them pack up their apartment as well. She was ready to get back to Rochester after so, so long.

...

"' _Last night broke the record for the most breakages of the International Wizarding Statute of Secrecy_ '." Nina read out loud from the article clipping that Minerva had given her with a small smile. They were back in Rochester now, sitting in the sitting room. Raj and Amelia were there too, of course. They had brought celebratory pizzas for dinner. Lucy was in bed so now was the best time to talk about the war. Daniel was sitting beside Nina with a beer in one hand and his arm around her. Raj and Amelia were sitting in a loveseat and Minerva was sitting in an armchair, all with cups of tea that may or may not contain a shot of whiskey in hand. "' _Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold defended her citizens by asserting their "unalienable right to party"_.'"

Daniel smiled. "I like this Minister."

"So do I," Raj said with a laugh. "She sounds a lot more fun than the Muggle politicians we've got."

"It's ridiculous really," Amelia said, shaking her head though she smiled. "People are going absolutely insane. You'd think they'd never seen a wand before, they're all so crazy."

"They reported it all on the Muggle news as well," Minerva said. "Flocks of owls during the day, shooting stars down in Kent, people walking around Muggle streets in their robes and hats. Imagine, the day the war ends is the same day Muggles find out about wizards."

Nina laughed. "Oh, it'll be okay," she said. "It was the day after Halloween. People are used to weirdos around that time."

"Also you just see all that in London on a normal day," Raj said.

"Yeah and people might just think people are celebrating bonfire night early this year," Daniel said with a smile.

"So are they giving everyone who does magic in front of muggles a free pass then?" Nina asked, putting down the newspaper clipping and picking up her own beer bottle from the coffee table.

"They're being more lenient than usual," Amelia said.

"How did it actually end?" Daniel asked, smile fading.

Minerva sighed and leaned back in her chair, her smile also leaving her face. She told them the story of Harry Potter. Voldemort had found the Potter's home and, after killing both James and Lily, turned his sights on the baby. He tried to kill Harry with the killing curse but for reasons no one could explain the spell did not work. It backfired and Voldemort lost all his power. He disappeared. His body was not found in Godric's Hollow but he was no longer leading the a rebellion against everything they believed in. The Death Eaters were being rounded up and trails were being scheduled. After she finished the story, she sighed again and went into Sirius's part in all this.

"Peter went after him," Minerva said sadly. "Yesterday, he found him in London. Witnesses heard them shouting about how he had betrayed the Potters and then... then Sirius - he - he blasted Peter away. All that was left was a finger... He blew up the whole street. Killing twelve muggles as well. Apparently when they found him... all he could do was laugh! He laughed after betraying his best friend and killing thirteen people!"

Amelia sighed and shook her head. "I don't know why that boy did that," she whispered. "He's always been so... skittish... so nervous. How could he have though he could take on Black all on his own?"

"Sirius? Really? Are you sure?" Nina said, furrowing her brow. "He's so... he was so... nice!"

"There has to be a mistake," Daniel said with a frown. "Sirius wouldn't do that. He loved James and Lily and Harry. He would never do anything to put them in danger. James was his best friend. He would rather have died than betray his best friend."

"That's what I thought too," Minerva mumbled, looking away.

"No, really. There must be a mistake," Daniel said more forcefully. "We knew him! He was never like them. Why would he talk to Nina and I if he believed that Muggles were less than wizards? Why would he be so nice to us?"

"It was him, Daniel," Amelia said softly. "He refused to defend himself when we asked him. He refused to talk to us at all. Innocent people don't just sit back and let themselves be charged with the death of their friends."

"We trusted him," Daniel said quietly. He looked over at Minerva. "Lucy loved him. We... we let him play with her and be around her."

"I know," Minerva said with a sigh. "I brought him here. I let him meet you all. See you and get information about you back to _him_."

"It's not your fault, Minerva," Raj said. "It really isn't. He fooled a lot of people."

"He'll be thrown in Azkaban," Amelia said. "He'll get what he deserves."

"It's still so hard to believe," Nina said quietly, moving a little closer to Daniel. "That someone would do something so horrible. To their best friend. To a one year old baby."

There was silence for a while before Raj leaned forward and said, "Well, what happened happened and we may never understand it but it's over. The war is over. It was long and brutal but it's over and all of us can finally relax."

Minerva smiled. "It was so long," she said. "I'm so glad that I decided against waiting for it to end to come back home."

"You're the one that kept saying that you can't let the war put your life on hold," Nina said with a smile.

"Wise words. It just reinforces my belief that I'm always right," Minerva replied with a smile.

"Oh god," Amelia said with a shake of her head.

Raj, Daniel and Nina all groaned too. Daniel got up and shook his head. "Maybe you should have just stayed away."

Minerva laughed.

"You two staying the night?" Daniel asked, looking over at Raj and Amelia.

"Shouldn't be Apparating now with all you've drank," Minerva said. "Stay the night."

"We've not drank that much," Raj said defensively.

"Still," Nina said. "Not like your room's gone anywhere."

"I don't think you have much of a choice," Daniel said with a laugh.

"I suppose we don't," Amelia said with a smile.

Minerva smiled and watched her children, Amelia and Raj get up and get ready to go upstairs to go to bed. She watched them say goodnight and head towards the stairs to go to their rooms. This was her life now. Relaxing at home with her children and after years of war, it felt right. She was still sad for how it ended but she was glad it was over. She stood up as well and Amelia gave her a smile. She let go of Raj's hand and walked towards her.

"It's over," she said quietly as the others left the room.

"It's over," Minerva agreed with a smile. Amelia smiled and pulled her friend into a hug. Minerva smiled and hugged her back. "It was long but it's over."

They pulled away and Amelia put an arm around her as they walked out of the room as well. Minerva smiled and walked up the stairs. They said their goodnights before going to their separate bedrooms. Minerva laid down in her nice warm bed and had a good night's sleep for the first time in a very long time.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _It was long but it's over._

I am sorry for the long wait but here is the last chapter of this story! It's so weird to have completed this story. I've written thirty three chapters which I think is kind of amazing. I've never written and finished something before. I'm actually quite proud of myself for sticking with it.

Anyways, thank you so much for sticking with me through the whole story! You have read so many of my words, thank you! Please leave a review letting me know what you thought about my story in large and if you have any critiques or suggestions for my writing. I am happy to hear it.

As for any upcoming writings in this series, please stay tuned.


	34. Interlude I

**Quick Note:**

I am very sorry for my long absence, things got pretty busy with exams and I had other things to deal with. I am back now and I thought an interlude to introduce you to the new peaceful Wizarding World a few years after the end of the war would be a nice before the real story picks up again. The interlude is in two parts but afterwards I will be starting to post chapters following Lucy's life during the events of the first Harry Potter book.

* * *

 **A *not so short* Short Interlude - Part 1/2 -** In which we are reintroduced to beloved characters and introduced to some new characters

"Lucy, come on, it was a joke. Calm down."

"I'm not talking about your stupid joke, Jordan," Lucy Collins muttered, glaring at the brown haired boy with the thin wire frame glasses and the rolled up sleeves she usually liked so much.

They were sitting in a coffee shop in Mayfair, three weeks into their summer break from Oxford University. Jordan Weller had come up to London for the weekend to meet with some friends. He had asked Lucy to come out to coffee with him since it had been three weeks since they had seen each other last. Of course, Jordan greeted his girlfriend, who he had not seen in three weeks, in the most gentlemanly of ways; with a proposition to have sex in the coffee shop bathroom.

Lucy and Jordan had been together for six months now and she had decided last week that she would be breaking up with him today. Their relationship had not been anything like Lucy had imagined her first relationship would be like. Sometimes she was happy being with him, other times she felt like they may be better as friends. Jordan was the first boy Lucy had kissed. The first one to ever touch her. The first one to ever even tell her she was pretty. Which is probably why she had stayed with him for as long as she had even though she had never been completely present in their relationship.

"I just don't think that this is working out," Lucy said, looking down at her coffee and sighing. "I haven't really been a hundred percent in it and I don't think that's fair to you so I think it's best that we stop seeing each other. Besides you'll be going off to Harvard in September and -"

"Is that it? Are you worried that I'll meet someone else in America?" Jordan asked with a frown. "Are you jealous of me getting into Harvard?"

"No, of course not," Lucy said, looking up at him with a frown. "I'm very proud of you for getting into Harvard, that's great. I just think that it's time we go our separate ways. Maybe you will meet someone else in America. That would be nice."

"Lucy, you're being ridiculous. You know it was a joke," Jordan said angrily. "I didn't really want us to go do it in the bathroom. I was just trying to be funny. It was stupid."

"It's not about that!" Lucy said. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I wanted to tell you in person. I didn't feel right doing it over the phone. I am genuinely happy for you for getting into Harvard, Jordan, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your degree there. Thank you for coffee. Goodbye."

Lucy got up and picked up her purse. Before she could turn and leave, however, Jordan got up and grabbed her arm. Lucy looked at him with wide eyes.

"Lucy, I love you. You're being stupid. Let's talk about this!" he said much too loudly, gripping her arm tightly.

"I'm done talking, Jordan," she said, trying to pull away but he was too strong. She looked around at everyone in the coffee shop looking at them and lowered her voice quickly. "I have to go. My mother is expecting me."

"Lucy, seriously. Just sit down!"

"No."

An older gentleman who had been sitting with his wife at a table nearby got up then and walked towards them. "Is everything alright over here?"

Jordan looked at him for a second and then down at his hand still wrapped tightly around Lucy's arm. He quickly let go and said, "fine. We're fine." He looked back at Lucy. "This isn't over. You're in a bad mood right now because of my stupid joke. I'll call you later and we can talk about this."

"I'm not in a bad mood. I have made my decision," Lucy said, glaring at him. "Don't call me. I won't pick up."

With that she turned, long black hair whipping around her shoulder as she did, and walked out of the coffee shop. She put her bag over her shoulder and crossed her arms angrily as she walked down the street towards the tube. She was glad that was over with. She had expected it to be that bad and had prepared herself for such. Jordan Weller was a man used to getting everything he wanted and not getting Lucy, who he had "worked so hard for", was a detrimental blow to his inflated ego.

It was the right thing to do though. Jordan could yell at her and tell her how much he loved her but the ball of tension that had been building inside her since their very first kiss eased up ever so slightly and Lucy was happy with her decision. She was content with leaving him fuming in that coffee shop alone. She was free.

Lucy got on the train and took it away from Mayfair, leaving Jordan and all the worry that came along with him behind her. She walked through the crowds of business people getting off work and school children laughing with their friends as they walk home from school. She jumped out of the way of a biker and crossed the road in front of a taxi cab that stopped just in time not to hit her.

Finally she made it to Whitehall and stepped into a red phone booth. She punched in the code, six, two, four, four, two, and slowly the booth platform began to lower like an elevator. The busy London street disappeared above her but none of the passers-by seemed to notice Lucy sinking into the ground.

Lucy stepped out of the booth when it settled on the ground in a large atrium. Busy looking wizards and witches were walking through briskly, getting to meetings or heading home for the day. Paper airplanes carrying important messages whizzed by overhead and a young man by a newspaper stand tried to get people's attention in order to sell papers.

Lucy ignored him and kept walking passed the large fountain in the middle of the atrium that had stood there for as long as she could remember. She saw the large banner hanging over head that portrayed the newly appointed Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. The election had concluded just a few weeks ago and, as always, everyone was happy to put election season behind them.

Lucy made it to the elevators and took it up to level two. She was tossed left and right as the elevator moved at neck-breaking speeds vertically, horizontally and diagonally. Finally she shuffled out with a couple others into the lobby of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She walked through the hallways until she made it to the Head of the Department's office.

"Hello, Lucy," said the secretary sitting in front of the door. "How are you today?"

"I'm alright, Mary, thank you for asking," Lucy said. "Is Aunt Amelia in?"

"Yes," Mary said. "She's expecting you. Go on in."

"Is my mum here yet?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet," Mary said.

Lucy nodded and thanked her before walking through the door to the office.

Amelia Bones looked up from her desk and smiled brightly. "Hello, my darling," she said, putting down her quill and standing up. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said, closing the door to the office and walking over to her aunt. Amelia smiled and Lucy gave her a hug.

"How'd it go?" Amelia asked. She was the only person, other than Anne Linwood, of course, that Lucy had told she was going to be seeing and dumping Jordan today.

"About as well as I thought it would," Lucy mumbled, pulling away and walking around the desk. She tossed her purse on one of the chairs and flopped down on the other. "He was angry but he'll get over it, I'm sure. He's already called me a couple times and left some messages but I haven't listened to them."

Amelia smiled. "Well, at least it's over now," she said, sitting back down and tidying up the papers and files on her desk. "How are you feeling?"

Lucy thought about it for a second. "Better, I think," she said almost a little cautiously. She was still trying to figure out for sure how she felt. "I think I feel better."

"I think you made the right decision then," Amelia said, looking up and giving her a small smile. "I am glad you're feeling a little better and, of course, it's still quite soon. I'm sure as it really sinks in, you'll feel even better."

"I really hope so," Lucy said with a small smile. "I was kind of hoping that it would all go away and I would feel normal again as soon as I dumped him but even though I feel a little bit better, I still don't feel normal yet."

"Well, I don't know what normal is but like I said, it takes time for everything to sink in," she said. "If you still feel strange and like something could be wrong just let me know and maybe we can try going and talking to someone. There's absolutely no shame in that. You have done it before after all and it helped you then, didn't it?"

Lucy nodded. Her first year at University had been worse than this year had. Lucy had graduated a few years early, meaning all her friends were older than her and having fun going to parties and age-gated events that she could not attend. She was alone most nights doing work and missing home and her family so much. There were nights where she thought about quitting and coming back in a few years when she was older and could handle it better but ultimately she stuck it out and she was glad that she had. Even if she had called her mother crying almost every night. She had talked with a lot of counsellors about her experience and that had definitely helped her feel better. She knew that talking to a professional could be immensely helpful but she felt like this time was different from before. She couldn't explain why. It just felt different somehow. She couldn't explain what the problem was or what she was feeling for sure like she could last time.

"So what's the plan then?" Amelia asked. "You and Minerva are going down to Rochester tonight, aren't you?"

Lucy nodded. "Mum says I have to go," she said with a sigh. "Said that Nina told her that Aunty Karishma's been saying that I'm avoiding her and Uncle Aman."

"Have you?" Amelia asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow at her.

"Of course not," Lucy said with a frown. "Why wouldn't I want to hear constant critiques of my clothes, my behaviour, and my pronunciation of the word rhistah?"

"Is it really that bad?" Amelia asked.

Lucy leaned her head back on the chair, closed her eyes, and nodded. "Why aren't you and Uncle Raj coming to dinner? I know Mum invited you two."

"We're busy tonight."

"Lies."

Amelia smiled. "We are," she said. "I'm going with him to a dinner meeting with some businessmen from America or some other country. I'm not entirely sure. He told me while he was running out the door this morning and I didn't catch everything he said. You could always come with us, if you'd like. Seen what a business meeting is like. I'll tell you now that you'll be very bored though."

Lucy scrunched up her nose and sighed. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "Mum hates it too. She's been very mad at me for not coming to dinner the past couple days since Daniel and Nina left and leaving her to deal with them alone," she said. "Aunty Karishma is really mean to her too. She thinks that Mum can't do anything right with me and Daniel because she's white."

Amelia sighed. "I know," she said. "It's hard but it's only today and then they'll be leaving for India tomorrow morning."

Lucy made a whining noise but didn't say anything.

"Just her and Aman left right?"

"Yes," Lucy said. "Everyone else is gone. I wish Nina's cousins from Glasgow were still here. Then at least I could hang out with them and not have to talk to Aunty Karishma."

"It's too bad Kamillah had to go back to Brighton," Amelia said. "She was very lovely and it was nice to finally meet her."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "She was the one that let Nina stay with her so she could finish school here when her parents decided to move back to India when Nina was sixteen."

"That was nice of her."

Lucy nodded. "She was really nice," she said. "She left right away though. As soon as the wedding was over she left for Brighton because she didn't want to stay around Aunty Karishma for longer than she had too."

Amelia sighed.

Lucy sat up and looked at Amelia sadly. "Could you imagine," she asked, "being hated by your own sister just because you love someone that they think you shouldn't?"

Amelia sighed again and shook her head. "No, I can't," she said. "I hope that eventually Karishma comes around and realizes that no matter what Kamillah is still the same person she's always been. Still her sister."

"Me too," she said with a sigh. "Poor Aunty Kamillah. I hate overly religious people."

Amelia smiled a little. "Not all religious people think like that," she said. "Most understand that people are just people and you have to treat them with respect no matter who they are or who they love."

"Eh."

"Your uncle Malcolm is a preacher."

"I know."

"And your grandmother was a preacher's wife."

"I know."

Amelia smiled and shook her head. "Anyways," she said. "When do Nina and Daniel get back from their honeymoon?"

"Not soon enough," Lucy muttered. "I miss them so much!"

Amelia smiled. "They seem like they're having a lot of fun in Morocco."

"They are," Lucy said. "Daniel said that Nina's worried about me though because of all the stuff with her mum and everything with Jordan and everything else. I keep telling her I'm fine but she still sounds worried. I hope I'm not ruining their honeymoon."

"You're not ruining their honeymoon, love," Amelia said reassuringly. "You know Nina. She's going to be worried about you no matter what. She's a worrier."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "They get back the first of June. Then Daniel deploys to Iraq again a week after that."

"Oh, that's quite soon," Amelia said.

"I know," Lucy said with a sigh. "He'll be back for Christmas this year though so that's something at least."

"Yes," Amelia said. "That's nice. I'm sure –"

Just then there was a knock on the door making both Lucy and Amelia look over at it.

"Come in," Amelia said.

The door opened and Minerva walked in. "Hello," she said with a smile. "Oh, good, Lucy, you're already here."

"Hey, Mum," Lucy said.

"What is this?" Amelia asked, giving Minerva a smile. "Since when do you knock on my door?"

Minerva gave her a look before walking around the desk towards the chairs. "I was just making sure that I did not interrupt anything important," she said. She eyed Lucy's purse on the only other chair in front of Amelia's desk, looked over at her, and raised her eyebrow.

"Sorry," Lucy said with a smile, grabbing her purse quickly and moved it aside.

Minerva smiled and sat down. She looked at Amelia. "I would never want to interrupt you during an important meeting."

"Well, first off, you did. I am having a very important meeting with a very important person right now," she said making Lucy smile. "And second, that is a lie. You don't care. You just don't want to see Fudge."

"That is not true," Minerva said indignantly.

"It is," Lucy said with a smile. "Mum doesn't like Minister Fudge very much. She says he's too cheerful."

"I thought you thought I was too cheerful," Amelia said with a smile.

"You are but you're genuinely cheerful and it's hard to hate you for it," Minerva muttered. "He is obviously putting on a show of cheerfulness and I have no problem hating him for it."

"He's a politician," Amelia said.

"I hate politicians," Minerva muttered.

"I know," Amelia said.

"Mum," Lucy said. "I actually have this thing later tonight that I can't –"

"You're coming to dinner, Lucy," Minerva said, glaring at her. "I will not have you leaving me to deal – I mean… you are coming to dinner and that's final."

Lucy sighed and leaned forward on Amelia's desk, resting her head in her arms. "Muuuuum!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Also, you will be wearing a salwar kameez to dinner," she said. "Wear the nice white one with blue embroidery that Nina bought for you last time she went to India."

Lucy made fake crying noises. "I can't!" she said. "No matter how I wear it, she's going to have a problem with it!"

Minerva sighed and reached out, patting Lucy's arm. "Just tonight, love," she said. "They'll be gone before you even wake up tomorrow."

"And then off to Hogwarts," Amelia said with a smile. "I'm guessing you'll be spending most of your time up there with Tonks and the Weasleys as always."

Lucy looked up and nodded. Then she smiled a little. "Snape's petition for my banishment from the castle last year was unsuccessful," she said. "He tried very hard but Uncle Albus likes me too much to kick me out."

"Yes, but you four pull a stunt like that again, I will banish you from the castle," Minerva said, frowning and shaking of her head. She looked at Lucy who was still smiling. "It's not funny, Lucy. You could have gotten yourself and your friends killed! Severus had a point, you know. You're not a student. There is no reason for you to be at the castle and if you pull a stunt like that again, I will join his petition to banish you."

"Sorry, Mum. It won't happen again," Lucy said, looking down so Minerva wouldn't see her smile.

After Lucy graduated secondary school at the age of eleven, she had decided to go to Oxford University. Her friends, Nymphadora Tonks, Charlie Weasley and Bill Weasley, however, went to Hogwarts. So when her semesters ended at Oxford she would spend most of her nights at Hogwarts with her friends. Last year saw a series of events, not entirely their fault of course, that led to Snape hating her even more than usual and her almost getting kicked off the castle grounds. It also resulted in one of the best finds of any exploration of the castle that they had ever gone on though. A map. A wonderfully useful map that, after some work finding the password, showed the whole castle and how everyone was moving around within it. So, though they had almost died and Lucy had almost been banished from the castle grounds, it was worth it.

Amelia smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure it won't," she said. "And anyways, when hasn't Severus Snape had a problem with you."

"I don't know," Lucy said. "He's always hated me. Even when I was the cute little nine year old I was."

"Cute… right," Minerva muttered.

Lucy gave her look.

Minerva smiled and looked at her watch. "Well, shall we head out?" she asked and Lucy groaned. Minerva ignored her and looked at Amelia. "Are you sure you and Raj can't postpone your dinner? It is their last night with us after all."

"We can't postpone unfortunately," Amelia said. "I'm very sorry. I'm sure it won't be that bad. And if it is, they're leaving tomorrow."

Minerva sighed and nodded. She was about to get up when there was another knock on Amelia's door.

"Come in," Amelia said.

The door opened and the man from the banner in the main atrium entered the room. Minerva closed her eyes and whispered, "so close," making Lucy laugh a little.

Cornelius Fudge was a heavy set man with a charming smile that barely reached his eyes and a signature lime green bowler hat. He had short neatly combed blond hair and blue eyes that one Witch Weekly article had called 'divine'. Lucy didn't see it. He was much too old for her to find handsome and she had been told by her mother, usually while talking about this man in particular, to never trust a grown man with blond hair.

Fudge's campaign had been a surprise to all the political commentators in the newspapers and magazines when he had first announced it seven months prior. No one had expected the Director of Magical Catastrophes to run for Minister for Magic of the British Magical Community. No one had really known what to expect from this Minister race at all from very beginning, actually.

The previous Minister, Millicent Bagnold, who had been appointed near the end of the war and who was still riding high from being labelled the Minister that led them to victory against the Death Eaters, had not run again this year. Her approval ratings were still through the roof and some touted her as being the best Minister they had ever had, having gone on to do some of the most comprehensive and intensive reforms of both the legal and education system that the community had seen to date. She was a shoe in to win yet another happy term. She chose to end her political career here, however, after three terms as Minister. Bagnold was older now, more tired, and wanted retire to her seaside cottage near Dover to spend more time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

After Bagnold, all the commentators held their breaths in anticipation to see if Bartemius Crouch, previously the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and now Head of International Magical Cooperation, would throw his hat in the race. He did not. A scandal from only two years prior revealed that Crouch's own son had been a Death Eater responsible for some of the greatest atrocities the war had seen. Barty Crouch Junior was carted off to Azkaban, leaving his father's reputation in ruins and destroying any chance he had at a Minister bid. Crouch Senior saw his approval rating plummet. It didn't help that he and his son shared a name. Misinformed rumours tarnished his reputation even further. Some saw him as a Death Eater himself, others a Death Eater sympathizer at the least. Calls for his resignation became too much and Crouch stepped down from Law Department, quietly accepting the job as Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and quickly appointing Emmeline Vance as his deputy. A move that proved quite popular as everyone knew of Vance's great work for the Order of the Phoenix during the war. Bagnold appointed Amelia as Crouch's successor and Amelia graciously accepted. Her approval rating were higher than Crouch's had ever been even before the scandal. Amelia's work as a judge during the war, her record on the Wizengamot, and her all around genuine charisma and reputation for fairness propelled her ratings to rival that of Bagnold's. Lucy had always thought she should run for Minster but, for this election cycle at least, Amelia did not.

Candidates emerged from the woodwork. Some promising, others not so much. Despite the war having ended eight years ago, it still rang fresh in most voters' minds and anyone seeming to be a Death Eater sympathizer, whether the accusation was true or not, were forced to drop out early on. Through the mudslinging, empty promising, and general awfulness that was election season, Cornelius Fudge, with the help of his lovely wife, Zelda (who, Minerva had told Lucy, was the real mastermind behind most of Fudge's campaign and all of his platform), positioned himself as a candidate for the people. What he lacked in wit, he made up for in charming smiles and approachability. In the end even Minerva, despite never having much fondness for Fudge and having a strangely specific bias against adult men with blond hair, admitted that Fudge was the best choice for Minister.

"The lesser of two evils, I suppose, my darling," she had told Lucy over the phone, shortly before hanging up, going into the polling station and voting for the man. "Besides, he has promised to keep Amelia as Head of Law, so that's one good thing."

Lucy was not Fudge's biggest fan either. She had met him and his wife at a fundraiser her mother had forced her too and she had preferred Zelda. Zelda was smart and funny and, though a little condescending and upper class at times, nice enough to Lucy. She seemed to genuinely like her and Minerva, Amelia, and Raj had told her that having friends in high positions like that could become useful to her when she was older. Whatever that meant.

"Amelia, I was – oh, hello, Minerva! I was not aware that you were visiting us today," said Fudge heartily, flashing a smile their way. "And little Lucy! How are you, my dear?"

Little Lucy. Lucy had to stop herself from making a face. She was fifteen, sixteen in only a few months, and she did not appreciate being referred to as little Lucy. Whether that was referring to her age or her stature.

"Hello, Cornelius," Minerva said diplomatically. "Lucy and I were actually just heading out. We have a prior engagement."

"Oh, well that's too bad," Fudge said. "I would have loved to chat with you a little more about how things are going up at Hogwarts though. Why don't we schedule a meeting, you, me and Albus, to discuss it sometime next week?"

Minerva nodded as she stood up. "Next week would be perfect," she said. "Until then, Lucy, shall we head out?"

"Yes," Lucy said, getting up and picking up her purse. "It was nice seeing you, Minister Fudge."

"You as well, Lucy," he said with a smile. "Been Minister almost a month now, how am I doing?"

"Very well, sir," Lucy said though she was not sure what she was supposed to be evaluating. She didn't think Fudge had done anything yet that she could base her evaluation on.

Fudge beamed. "I'm glad you think so, my dear, I'm glad you think so," he said. He looked over at Amelia. "Well, Amelia, I wanted a quick overview of the budget for your department, if you have the time."

"Yes, please sit down, Cornelius," Amelia said.

Fudge moved towards the chairs while Lucy and Minerva headed for the door.

"Goodbye, Aunty Amelia," Lucy said, walking over to her aunt and giving her a hug.

"I'll see you soon, love," she said, kissing her cheek.

Lucy pulled away, Minerva said goodbye as well, and they headed out of the office. As they walked towards the elevators, Minerva said, "how are you, darling? How was your day?"

"It was okay," Lucy said. "I left the house quite early. Anne picked me up and we took the train into London. I didn't even see Aunty and Uncle this morning."

"This is why she thinks you're avoiding them," Minerva said with a shake of her head.

"I'm just trying to enjoy my summer, Mum," Lucy said. "Daniel and Nina are gone, Anne can only hang out once in a while when she's not working, and my other friends are either working full-time or living too far away for me to visit."

"I know, darling," Minerva said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know that Karishma is not helping improve your mood but they'll be gone tomorrow and all the stress of the wedding will fade. Daniel and Nina will come home and things will go back to normal."

"I hope so," Lucy mumbled as they crammed into a stuffy elevator and took it back to the main building atrium.

"What did you and Anne do in London today?" Minerva asked when they squeezed their way out of the elevator and started walking through the atrium.

Lucy shrugged a little distractedly, looking up at the banner hanging from the ceiling. "We had lunch at a cute little place near Collins Enterprises and then went for a little bit of shopping in Mayfair," she said "You know, I think they got his nose wrong."

Minerva looked up at the banner and smiled a little. "I think it's a photograph, my love."

"Do you think he used magic to make his nose smaller before the photograph?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe," Minerva said. "Or maybe it was just makeup."

"Do you think he's done a good job in his first month in office?" Lucy asked.

Minerva laughed. "What's he done?"

"I'm not sure but he seems to think he's done loads."

"I suppose we'll see," Minerva said. "It may be mostly internal things that we are not privy to."

"Maybe," Lucy said. "I think Minister Fudge cares more about his looks than about fixing the economy or bringing back jobs or whatever else he claims to care about."

"I think you would be safe in that assumption," Minerva said with a smile. "I doubt he'll last very long."

"Minister Bagnold lasted twelve years."

"The wonders the end of a war can do for a political career," she replied. "I doubt we'll have to worry too much about that with Fudge."

"I definitely hope not."

"Maybe once this job starts greying his silly blond hair he'll become frightened off the toll it will take on his appearance and step down," Minerva said with a smile.

"Wow," Lucy said. "I'm very glad that Dad had black hair or I might never have been born."

Minerva laughed as she opened a telephone booth and held the door for Lucy. Lucy went inside and Minerva came in after her. As soon as the door clicked shut, the booth began moving back up towards the streets of London.

Lucy watched the Ministry atrium roll away underneath them and said, "I saw Jordan today as well."

"Oh? How is he?"

"Fine, I guess," she mumbled, not looking at her mother. "I dumped him."

Minerva looked over at her. "You broke up with your boyfriend?"

Lucy nodded. The booth came to a stop and she opened the door, stepping outside onto the unusually sunny street of Whitehall.

"Jordan was gross," she mumbled as she started towards one of the many Safe Apparition Zones scattered around the Ministry entrances. "He was annoying so I dumped him."

Minerva smiled a little. "Well, I'm glad," she said, following after her. "If you didn't like him very much then there was no reason to stay with him."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I didn't really like him very much. I don't know why I was even with him in the first place, honestly."

"I think that's just part of being in your teen years," Minerva said. "I've definitely dated boys when I was younger for reasons I could not explain now."

"Really?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"Oh, yes," Minerva said with a smile. "I've told you about Dougal McGregor. The boy I almost married when I was eighteen just because he asked me."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Your thirteen hour and twenty two minute long engagement."

"Right," Minerva said, shaking her head though she smiled. "A farmer's son. Can you imagine?"

"No, definitely not. You would ruin your black heeled boots on a farm."

"The farm life was definitely not for me," Minerva said with a smile. "Dougal and I parted ways and I cannot tell you now what possessed me to say yes to him in the first place. Though, I can say, that I am very glad I did not go through with it. I would have hated working the farm with him, locking my wand underneath my bed, not having you and Daniel and Nina in my life."

"Oh, who cares about them," Lucy said, looking over at her mother with a smile. "I'm the only one who really matters, right?"

"If I say yes can you stop complaining about dinner tonight?" Minerva asked.

Lucy rolled her eyes and kept walking. "Jordan wanted to get married too," she said. "Not like right away but he talked about it and I was like... um, I'm fifteen. I think it was just because of all the planning and anticipation around Daniel and Nina's wedding but it was still weird."

Minerva smiled. "It's much too early for you to worry about that."

Lucy nodded. "Also," she said, turning the corner into an alley and stopping. She turned around and face her mother. "Dougal McGregor is the most Scottish name I've ever heard."

Minerva laughed. "I cannot argue with that."

She pulled out her wand and held her hand out for Lucy. Lucy took it and with a flick of Minerva's wand, the two of them disappeared.

The two women arrived in Rochester outside a large gate. Minerva punched in the code and the gate opened for them. They walked up the long cobble drive and into the large grey stone house that sat at the end of it. Lucy was quickly sent upstairs to wash up and change for dinner while Minerva got started on the preparations.

Lucy walked up the stairs as quietly as she possibly, skipping the third step that she knew creaked the loudest. She was almost safely to her room when suddenly one of the other many doors swung open and a man with grey hair, a grey moustache and Nina's same brown eyes came out into the hall.

"Oh, hello, Lucy jaan, just got in?" asked Aman Chaudhry, the least insufferable of Nina's parents.

"Namaste, Uncle Aman," Lucy said politely. "Yes, Mum and I just got back from London. I hope you and Aunty Karishma had a nice day. You both had a bit of a lie in this morning so I hope I didn't wake you when I was getting ready to leave this morning."

"Oh, not at all, don't you worry, meri jaan," he said. "Karishma and I had a very slow day today. It was quite nice actually, very relaxing."

"That's good," Lucy said. "Mum is cooking a special dinner tonight since it'll be your last one here."

"That's quite nice of her. Will you be joining us tonight?"

Lucy nodded.

"Wonderful," he said. "Karishma will be happy to see you. You've missed our last few dinners."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"That's alright."

"Um, where is Aunty Karishma?"

"The kitchen, I believe."

Oh no, Lucy thought. "Oh, okay," she said. "Ah, well, I have to change and wash up quickly. I'll see you down in the kitchen."

Aman nodded and Lucy quickly hurried into her room. She threw her bag and coat over her desk chair and hurried to her closet. She pulled out the salwar kameez that her mother had wanted her to wear and got changed and ready for dinner, knowing full well that leaving her mother to deal with Karishma alone in the kitchen would not be good.

Lucy was out of her room and running down the stairs in record time, heading towards the kitchen. She walked in to find Minerva stirring a pot on the stove with a lot of concentration and narrowed eyes while Karishma peeled potatoes and ranted about spices.

"Really, I never understood why you people refuse to use anything other than salt and pepper."

"I am going to use spices, Karishma, I just –"

"Oh ho!" Karishma turned on Lucy. "Dehko, yahaan kaun hai! How wonderful to have Lucy Collins dining with us tonight. What's the special occasion, chotu?"

"Namaste, Aunty Karishma," Lucy said, poorly hiding the annoyance in her voice. This was also the second time today that she was being called little. Why did Karishma still have to call her chotu?

"Pyaari lag rahe ho salwar kameez mein," Karishma said, either not noticing Lucy's annoyance or choosing to ignore it. Lucy assumed the latter. "You should wear them more often."

"Thank you," Lucy said, walking towards the counter. "I can take this over for you, Aunty."

Karishma handed Lucy the knife and she got to the work. She looked back at her mother and Minerva gave her a little smile.

"Please fix your dupatta, Lucy," Karishma said when Lucy's scarf fell over her shoulder. "The neck of your suit is too low."

Lucy looked down and quickly pulled the scarf back up. "Sorry."

"That's alright, just keep an eye on it," Karishma muttered, walking around the counter and picking up a bottle of wine. As she poured herself a drink, she added, "much better than the clothes you usually wear either way."

Minerva frowned. "There's nothing wrong with the clothes she usually wears."

"Of course you wouldn't think so."

Minerva glared at Karishma. "Yes, I do think so," she said. "I think Lucy dresses very nicely. I don't find anything wrong with the way she dresses."

"Hmm," Karishma mumbled.

Lucy walked over to her mother with the potatoes that she had finished. As she did, she gave her mother a thankful look. Minerva squeezed her arm before taking the potatoes from her.

"I'm about done here," Minerva said. "You two sit."

Karishma did but Lucy hesitated. She watched Karishma sit down at the table and looked back at her mother. "Are you sure," she whispered, "that you don't need me to do anything else?"

"Just set the table, darling, thank you."

Lucy nodded and walked to the cupboard. She picked up the plates and walked over to the table to set the table. Karishma watched her with narrow eyes over her wine glass. Lucy didn't look at her. She focused on her plates and making sure that her dupatta didn't slip past the neckline of her dress. Just a few more hours, she reminded herself. A few more hours and Karishma would be gone, taking her harsh words and narrowed deep-set eyes with her.

"Lucy, how old are you now?"

Lucy looked up. "Fifteen."

"Right, right," Karishma said thoughtfully. "And that boyfriend of yours?"

"He was seventeen."

"Was?"

"I'm not seeing him anymore."

"Oh, good," Karishma said, sounding genuinely happy about this revelation. "You've left him then."

"I did, yes," Lucy said, looking up at her again and giving her a small smile. "He didn't take it very well."

"Of course, he didn't," Karishma said. "A girl like you with a boy like that? He knew how lucky he was and the realization that his luck had run out doesn't ever sit properly with people like that."

"You think he was lucky to be with me?" Lucy wasn't sure about that. She had always thought she had been lucky that Jordan had taken an interest in her. Not the other way around.

"Well, of course, look at you," Karishma said, setting her glass down. "Beautiful, smart."

Lucy smiled. She hadn't expected this from Karishma at all. "Thank you, Aunty Karishma."

Karishma gave her a little nod and Lucy turned to walk back to the kitchen to pick up glasses. Minerva gave raised an eyebrow at her and Lucy shrugged a little.

"You do not agree, Minerva?" Karishma asked from behind her.

"No, of course, I agree," Minerva said with a smile. "Jordan did not deserve her."

"A bit biased," Lucy said as she opened the cupboard and picked up four glassed.

"Completely impartial," she replied.

Lucy smiled and finished setting it and sat down in her regular seat. She looked over at Karishma. "Are you excited to go back to India, Aunty?" she asked.

"Oh yes," she said, leaning back in her chair. "It's been a long trip and it's very cold here."

"Not anymore," Lucy said. "We've had a pretty warm spring."

"Oh, but the winter was dreadful."

"It was a very cold winter this year," Minerva said. "I imagine you miss the hot Indian winters."

"Very much," Karishma said. "Why we decided to come for so long this time, I will never know."

"To help plan the wedding?" Lucy offered.

"Right."

"It was fun," Lucy said. "The wedding, I mean." She thought for a second before quickly adding, "and having everyone else over."

"Oh yes, it was nice to see everyone again. It's been so long," Karishma said. She paused a second and took a sip of her wine. "Jaanu, how did you like Nina's cousins from Glasgow, Asad and Qasim? You seemed to enjoy their company."

"Oh, they were very nice," Lucy said. They had been some of most tolerable of Nina's cousins. Lucy had spent most of her time at home, when she couldn't hide out with Nina and Daniel, with them. "It sucks that they had to go so soon."

"Yes, a shame," Karishma said.

Minerva, seeing where this conversation was going even if Lucy still wasn't, smiled as she finished up with dinner and carried her dishes over to the table. "Where is Aman?"

"Oh, he was just finishing up with the packing," Karishma said. "Now, Lucy, Qasim is a little old but Asad is going into his third year of a civil engineering degree, only a few years older than you."

"Yes…" Lucy said uncertainly, still not entirely seeing the direction this conversation was turning. "He told me. He's very much enjoying his degree which is good. It sounds like it would be a very interesting job."

"Yes, with good pay too."

"I suppose."

"Not that you have much to worry about in the department, of course."

"I – I suppose," Lucy said again.

"We are fortunate for that," Minerva said. "Should we begin without him or -"

"I'm here," Aman said as he walked into the kitchen. He gave them a smile as he walked over and took his seat. "Sorry for the hold up."

"That's alright," Minerva said.

"It looks wonderful, Minerva," Aman said.

"Let's hope it tastes alright," Karishma said. "We have more salt and pepper if you need it, Aman."

Minerva rolled her eyes but didn't speak.

They ate in silence for a little while before Karishma finally spoke again. "I was just telling Lucy here about Asad's degree."

"Huh? Oh, yes, civil engineering," Aman said with a nod. He was a little distracted by the food right now, however. "Very good. Very good choice."

"Lucy did mechanical," Minerva said. "And biomedical, right darling?"

Lucy nodded. "I thought it would be useful, mechanical I mean, if I go on to work at Collins Enterprises."

"If?" Aman asked. "You do not plan to work with you uncle?"

"I - yes, yes, I do. I just mean that... I don't know."

"It's, of course, her choice," Minerva said. "If she decides to do something else instead, that's completely fine as well." She looked at Lucy and gave her a smile. "Whatever makes her happy."

"I haven't decided yet," Lucy said.

"Hmm," Aman said. "Well, I hope you make the right decision."

Lucy didn't respond. She stared down at her plate and felt the ball of tension inside her stomach tighten. She hoped she made the right decision too.

"She doesn't have to make any decisions right now," Minerva said. "She's only fifteen."

"Yes, of course," Karishma said. "No, the reason I bring up Asad is because I noticed that she and him spent quite a bit of time together when he was here for the wedding and -"

"She is too young, Karishme," Aman said suddenly.

"It is never too early to make decisions for the future. I am sure Asad would be more than happy to -"

"No," Lucy said quickly, cheeks going bright red. "Please no."

"Lucy, you will not be young forever and when you do get to the age where you will like to marry it will be nice weight off your mother's shoulders to know that everything is already put in place for you."

"I am sure it will be fine," Minerva cut in. "I don't think Lucy needs to make any of those kinds of decisions right now. She is only fifteen." She turned to Aman and quickly changed the subject. "Your flight is quite early tomorrow."

"Yes, we have to head out at four thirty to make it on time," he said with a nod, happy for the change in topic.

Lucy glared down at her food as Minerva and Aman talked about their flight itinerary. Karishma tried to swerve the conversation back to Lucy and Asad but Minerva kept changing the topic whenever she tried. Lucy figured that Karishma felt like she had her power to pick Nina's husband taken away from her and was now taking that out on Lucy. She wished that Raj and Amelia could have been here to give her a little bit more conversational cushioning.

By the end of dinner, Lucy had turned five different shades of red and had marks in her palm from clenching her fists too hard. Finally she got the opportunity to leave and took it quickly.

"I don't know if I'll see you before we leave, Lucy," Aman said, "so I will say goodbye now."

Lucy gave him a small smile and walked over to him, bowing her head. "I hope you had a good visit, Uncle, and I hope you have a safe flight back home."

Aman smiled and put his hand on her head. "Goodluck with your studies. I will speak to you soon, hopefully. Do not be afraid to call us in India."

Lucy nodded. She then moved to Karishma who stood up and gave her a hug. "Stay away from those silly white boys," she said. "You do not need them. Maybe call Asad. Nina has their number."

"Okay," Lucy said, though she had no intention to do so. "Goodbye, Aunty. Have a safe flight."

"Goodbye, Lucy."

Lucy pulled away, said one last goodbye and hurried out of the kitchen. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and huffed a little as she flopped onto her bed. She picked up one of the pillows and buried her face in it, letting out a muffled sound of frustration. She was exhausted and just wanted her home back. Why must these people stay here? Why didn't they leave when everyone else did? It had been days since the wedding and the rest of Nina's family had left already.

"They'll be gone by morning," she reminded herself, tossing the pillow to the side and taking a deep breath. "They'll be gone, Nina and Daniel will come back, and everything will go back to normal."

Lucy got up and walked over to her desk. She picked up her bag and pulled her phone out. She looked at the screen and saw the little voicemail symbol in the top left corner of the screen. She rolled her eyes but called the number to check the message. She walked back and sat down on the bed, putting her feet up and leaning back on her headboard. She dialed her passcode before setting the phone down beside her and letting the message play out loud.

"Lucy," a melancholy sounding male voice came through. "It's Jordan. Today was shitty and I think we can still make this work. I know that you're ignoring my call but I really need to talk to you. I'm sorry if you didn't like my joke about having sex in the coffee shop washroom but it was just a joke. I didn't mean it. Please call me back. I still want to be with you and I think you still want to be with me to. Call me back."

Lucy frowned and tapped the screen. A robotic female voice said, "message deleted."

The next message played and Jordan's voice came through again, sounding a little annoyed this time. "Lucy, honestly, it was just a joke. Call me back so we can talk about this," he said. "I never meant to make you feel like all I ever wanted from you was sex. I really like you so please just talk to me like an adult. I'm sure we can work this out."

Lucy tapped the screen of the phone again and again the voice said, "message deleted."

The next message played and this time Jordan sounded angry. "Listen, I really liked you, Lucy," he said, sounding like he was trying very hard to remain calm. It wasn't working well. "I stayed with you even when you were being so weird about our kiss and even when you avoided me for so many weekends. I stayed with you even when my friends told me to just dump you because you weren't worth all the bullshit! I thought we'd make a good couple, my father being who he is and your parents being who -"

Lucy tapped the screen before the message could finish playing and again the same voice said, "message deleted. End of messages. If you would like to rec-"

Lucy tapped the screen one last time to end the call before pushing her phone away from her and sighing. She had always known that she and Jordan would break up, though she did think he would be the one pulling the plug on their relationship not her. She had also thought she would be sad when they did but she was actually glad it was over. She was glad she didn't have to worry about him anymore and despite herself she laughed.

"It was just a joke, bro," she said in a stereotypical deep, stupid male teenager voice. "I didn't mean it!" Lucy shook her head and laughed to herself. "My father being who he is. What an ass."

Just then there was a knock on her door. Lucy looked up and hesitantly. "Come in."

The door opened and Minerva came inside. She gave Lucy a small smile. "Alright?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said.

Minerva closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. "I know you've not had a very good day today, darling," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Lucy said as she moved over and Minerva sat down beside her. "I'm okay."

Minerva put an arm around her and Lucy leaned into her chest. "Mum, boys are gross."

Minerva laughed. "Not all of them."

"Most of them," she said with a sigh. "They suck and I don't like them."

"Do you want to talk about your meeting with Jordan?"

Lucy shrugged. "Not much to talk about," she said. "I met him in Cafe Block 12, I broke up with him, he was upset, I left. Nothing more to report."

"Did you leave that boy crying into his coffee, darling?" Minerva asked with a little laugh.

"No, not crying upset," Lucy said, looking down. "Angry upset."

"Oh," Minerva said, smile fading. She sighed. "What did that idiot say?"

"Nothing really. Just stupid stuff. He's very used to getting everything he wants and he had a plan for what was going to happen between us and I was just dating him to make you mad."

"Were you?" Minerva asked.

"No," she said. "I don't know why I dating him, really."

"Well, I'm glad you two aren't seeing each other anymore. He really doesn't deserve you. I've always thought so. You were much too good for him."

Lucy smiled a little and shook her head. "Again biased."

"No, completely impartial, like I said," Minerva said with a smile, leaning forward and kissing her temple. "Now, I have some work to get done before bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Alright, Mum," Lucy said.

Minerva got up and walked towards the door. "Goodnight, my darling," she said. "The driver will be here to take Karishma and Aman to the airport at four but you don't have to get up if you don't want to. You've already said goodbye to them."

"Okay, thanks," she said. "Goodnight, Mum."

Minerva left the room and closed the door behind. Lucy sighed and leaned back into her pillows. She reached her hand out and with a flick of her wrist a book from her bookshelf flew over to her. Before she had the chance to open it again, however, her phone rang again. She looked over at it and saw Jordan's name flash across the screen. Lucy rolled her eyes and turned back to her book as the phone kept ringing beside her.

"Go away, Jordan."

...

The next morning the first thing Lucy did when she woke up was hurry to the guest bedroom that Aman and Karishma had been staying in. She slowly opened the door and looked around the dark room. When she saw that it was empty, she opened the door wider and walked inside.

Aman and Karishma were gone. The room was clean, the bed was made, and any sign that people had once lived here was gone. Lucy checked the bathroom and the wardrobe and the desk drawers to make sure they didn't forget anything. She found a forgotten sock in the bottom of the wardrobe and a few loose papers, mostly receipts, in one of the desk drawers that they must have forgotten they had put in there. Lucy took her finds out of the room, walked down to the kitchen and tossed them in the garbage.

"All trace of them is gone. Now we just need to wash the sheets and everything will go back to how it was," Lucy said.

"Before everyone invaded your home?" Minerva asked from the kitchen table where she was drinking her coffee and reading her paper.

Lucy nodded as she walked over to the table. She sat down and Minerva pushed a plate in front of her.

"Eat."

Lucy smiled and picked up her fork. "I feel a little better now that things are starting to go back to normal. No more strangers living in our house. No more crazy wedding planning. No more Aunty Karishma."

Minerva smiled as she set down her newspaper and began folding it neatly. "I know it's been hard for you to let all of Nina's family that you didn't know into your space," she said. "I'm glad you feel a little better."

'I'm just glad it's over," Lucy said with a tired sigh. "Now I just need Nina and Daniel to come home and everything will be okay."

Minerva gave her arm a little squeeze. "Coming up to Hogwarts tonight, then?"

Lucy nodded. "I'll come a little later today after classes are over for the day," she said. "I'm going to meet Charlie and Tonks in the library. They've started studying for their O.W.L.s."

"Well, don't distract them too much," Minerva said, standing up and picking up her plate. She walked towards the kitchen and set the plate down in the sink. "Make sure you lock up before you come up."

"I will."

"And if you're not coming up before then, make sure you eat lunch, darling. I don't want to hear any of this 'I forgot' nonsense."

"I won't. I may go up to Collins Enterprises to meet Uncle Raj for lunch."

"Oh wonderful, do you mind popping into Diagon Alley to pick up some things for me, since you'll be in London anyways."

Lucy sighed. "I suppose."

Minerva smiled. She pulled out a small notebook and a pen out of a drawer and started scribbling down a list of things she'd like Lucy to buy. When she was done, she ripped it out of the book, walked back over to the table and handed the list over. "Thank you, my love."

Lucy took the note and looked it over. "A lot of these are the same ingredients we needed when you helped me with my Animagus process," she said. "Are you helping someone else become an Animagus."

"No," Minerva said. "There are other uses for mandrake leaves and Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis. I am researching a new potion actually, which will hopefully give the layman Animagus abilities for a few hours. Thank the American Animagus Institute for my funding."

"Wow, the American Animagus Institute," Lucy said. "Well, I'll pick this stuff up for you."

"Thank you, love," Minerva said, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Have a nice day, I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Mum," Lucy said.

She watched Minerva leave the kitchen to go into the living room where she could Floo to her office in Hogwarts. She finished her breakfast alone and wasted the rest of her day reading in the library. Around lunchtime, she used the fireplace to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron in London and took a cab from there to Collins Enterprises.

The Collins Enterprises building was a tall building, standing at fifty two stories tall and employing more people than Lucy could even imagine. She had been told, over and over, however, that her father knew everyone here and at the warehouse and factory by name. And people wondered where her good memory came from.

Though she did not know everyone's name, everyone else seemed to know her. Walking through the Collins Enterprise head office was the closest Lucy every came to the feeling when you cannot seem to remember someone's name when they come to greet you in a way in which indicates you have met multiple time before. She did not like the sensation.

Lucy hurried through the lobby and into the elevator, avoiding everyone's gaze. She made it to the top floor and walked towards her uncle's office, passing the CEO's office on her way. She glanced over at the long since empty office quickly as she went by. Nothing ever changed, it looked the same as it did the last time she looked over at it. The lights were off, the door was closed, and, though you could not see inside, it gave off a feeling of emptiness. Nothing changed and yet something always made her look over at it, almost expecting to see the lights on and the blinds open.

Finally she made it to Raj's office without too much hassle, greeted his secretary, and went inside.

"Hello, Princess!" said Raj Patil, looking up from his desk. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Lucy said. She held up a brown paper bag. "I brought lunch."

"Cheeseburgers, I hope," Raj said with a hopeful smile.

"Nope, salads," Lucy said with a smile. "You're supposed to be eating healthy, remember?"

Raj made a face as he cleaned up the things on his desk. "Amelia got to you too then."

Lucy laughed, sitting down in front of the desk and pulling the containers out of the bag. "I agree with her, Uncle Raj," she said. "A healthy diet is always good and it will help with your blood pressure."

"You take good care of me, Lucy. It's annoying."

Lucy pushed his salad towards him. "I am very sorry for wanting you to live a long, healthy life."

"I mean, whatever would you do without me?" Raj asked with a smile, opening the box and picking up a fork.

"I have no idea," Lucy replied. "So, how was your day so far?"

"Busy, tiring, and a little boring actually," Raj said. "I haven't gotten a chance to go out to the factory yet and that's where all the fun is."

"Right, of course."

"Maybe it'll be more fun when you're here too," Raj said.

Lucy smiled a little. "If I get here," she said. "I might be crushed under the weight of university and never make it out alive!"

"I was almost crushed," Raj said, smiling and shaking his head. "I should have left when your father did."

"Maybe I should leave," Lucy said.

"I'm sure your mother would be very happy."

Lucy made a face. "I don't think I'd get very far," she said. "She would get me."

"She would," Raj said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled a little. She changed the subject and they talked about other things for a little while before she finally told him about her break up with Jordan.

"You broke up with him?"

Lucy nodded.

"Well, I for one think that you deserve much better than Jordan Weller, Princess," Raj said. "He was a bit of a..."

"Snob?"

"Yes, a snob. And his father's not much better," Raj muttered. He shook his head. "Besides, he was much too old for you anyways."

"Only two years," Lucy said with a laugh.

"A year too many," Raj said with a shrug. "You shouldn't date older boys. You shouldn't date any boys for that matter. None of them deserve you."

"I guess I'll keep that in mind," Lucy said with a laugh. "Would you prefer to lock me in a tower then?"

"That implies a prince will come save her and I do not condone that either."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You are terrible," she said. "I should have stayed in Oxfordshire."

Raj laughed. "So, you're okay?"

Lucy smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

They finished eating lunch and when they were done, Lucy said goodbye and headed out back to the Leaky Cauldron. She took a cab back to the pub and walked through it to Diagon Alley. She walked from shop to shop picking up the supplies and books Minerva had listed for her. It took her a little while to find everything but eventually she found the last thing on the list, Seahorse fins, and headed back to the pub where she took the Floo up to Hogwarts.

She arrived in her mother's office at Hogwarts to find it empty. Minerva had not gotten back from class yet. Lucy left her shopping on her desk and put her bag inside her room in Minerva's private quarters before leaving towards the library.

Hogwarts was different than Collins Enterprises. She knew most everyone walking through the halls here. She smiled and waved at friends she passed in the long castle corridors. She greeted ghosts and portraits and professors in passing. She took turns confidently and she didn't feel the need to avoid anyone's gaze. The castle was her second home, she felt comfortable here. Not as uncertain and self-conscious as she did at Collins Enterprises.

Lucy made it to the library and sat down at a table with her friends, Nymphadora Tonks and Charlie Weasley. They had their books strewn about the table and index cards scattered everywhere. Tonks had a pen behind her ear that she had forgotten about, using a new one to write more cue cards, and Charlie's hair was sticking up every which way from him running his hands through it. Lucy laughed when Tonks somehow managed to knock a half her notes off the table when she tried to greet her.

"Shut up, Lucy," Tonks muttered as Lucy and Charlie helped her collect all her papers. "God, quiet down, you're going to get us kicked out of here."

"It's not Lucy's fault that you're the clumsiest person in existence, Tonks," Charlie said with a smile, straightening up and handing over the pile of papers he picked up.

Tonks glared at him as she snatched the papers from him and sat down back down in her chair as gracefully as she could manage.

Lucy smiled and set her pile on top of Tonks's books. "Don't be mean, Charles," she said. "Tonks is just a little grumpy from studying all day."

"Don't call me Charles."

"Don't call me grumpy."

Lucy smiled. "Oh, I missed you guys," she said. "All the craziness of the wedding and the like twenty people staying at our house in Rochester was slowly killing my soul!"

"How did the wedding go?" Tonks asked as she sorted through her notes to put them back in the correct order.

"It went well. I think Nina and Daniel were happy which is all that really matters," Lucy said. "Nina's parents left back for India this morning and now the house is finally empty and I can come stay up at Hogwarts again."

"That's great," Charlie said with a smile. "We still on for tonight?"

"Of course," Lucy said. "I snuck into our wine cellar before I left the house so I have a good supply of alcohol for us."

"Brilliant," Charlie said happily.

Tonks smiled as well. "Tonight's going to be fun and I definitely need a break from all this studying," she said. "You're so lucky your semester is over, Lucy. We're drowning under Snape's shitty potions notes and you're so relaxed and free."

"I know you're all really stressed out right now," she said, "but hopefully your O.W.L.s go well."

"I hope so too," Tonks mumbled. "But right now I'm not so sure."

"Me neither," Charlie said with a sigh, looking down at his own books. "I think I might fail the stupid Potions O.W.L.."

"Me too," Tonks said exasperatedly. "Oh man, what's the difference between wolfsbane and monkswood?"

"There isn't one. They're the same plant that also goes by the name aconite," Lucy said. "Don't worry, you guys know a lot of this stuff and you still have a lot of time to study up on everything you don't know."

"Lucy, do you want to take my O.W.L.s for me?" Tonks muttered, setting her notes aside and looking at her textbook instead.

"Mine too," Charlie said.

"Oh yeah, I think that would go over great," Lucy said. "I'm sure no one would notice at all."

Charlie laughed again and closed his book. "Oh, we're having career advising soon," he said. "That means I'll have to go talk to your mum about what I want to do with my life when I leave Hogwarts."

"What are you thinking?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know yet. Dragon training looked pretty cool," he said, pulling out the brochure and handing it to her to read.

"My cousin Flynn and his wife are Dragon Trainers in Ireland. It looks awesome," Lucy said as she opened up the brochure and looked over the requirements and training. "And you've always loved dragons and Care of Magical Creatures is your favourite class. I think that's a good fit for you."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," Charlie said with a smile. "What about you, Tonks? What do you want to do?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe Auror but they haven't taken on new Aurors in years," she replied. "It's supposed to be really hard and require a lot of extra training and classes."

"I think you could do it," Charlie said, making Tonks smile.

"Yeah! I agree," Lucy said. "You'd be an awesome Auror."

"Thanks guys," she said, blushing a little bit. "I'll talk to Sprout about it and get some more information about these other tests that it talks about in the brochures and then decide if that's what I want to do."

"What about you Lucy? Given more thought to what you're gonna do when you graduate?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I mean this is my last degree and I still have no idea. Maybe I should do another."

Tonks laughed. "How many are you going to do?"

"Probably won't do another," Lucy says with a smile. "I don't know. Anne's also graduating in two years so I think I'll just call it quits as well. I don't need a fifth degree. I don't even know what I would do it in."

"Are you going to take a job with your uncle?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know but I think whatever I do I'm going to move to London," she said with a little smile. "I like London. I think I want to live there."

"You should!" Tonks said excitedly. "If I become an Auror, I'll also be living in London! We could be neighbours! It would be -"

"Shhh," Madam Pince hissed harshly. Madam Pince was the librarian at Hogwarts and she was part of the small group of Hogwarts staff that did not like Lucy very much. Lucy was quite certain that she did not live anyone very much at all anyways so she wasn't too bothered but it. Pince was fluttering about, sending them glares every so often and waiting for them to get loud enough for her to kick them out of her library.

"Sorry," Tonks said while Lucy and Charlie laughed quietly. She shook her head and continued more quietly this time, "it would be awesome!"

"Yeah, it would be," Lucy said with a smile. "We'll be able to hang out all the time and, Charlie, you could visit and tell us all about the dragons."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, I'll fly in on my dragon that I trained!"

"I don't think they'd let you fly a dragon over London," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Yeah, a muggle might find that a little odd," Lucy said.

"Maybe a little," Charlie conceded with a laugh.

They talked for a little while longer, not getting much studying done at all, before it was almost time for dinner. They packed up their books and headed to the Great Hall to eat. Lucy followed Tonks to the Hufflepuff table while Charlie went off to the Gryffindor table to sit with Bill Weasley and his other friends. Bill waved at Lucy and Tonks as they walked by.

When they sat down, Lucy looked up at the teacher's table at the front of the hall where her mother was sitting talking to Albus Dumbledore. She caught her mother's gaze and gave her a smile. Minerva smiled back.

Food appeared shortly on the once empty dishes sitting in the middle of the long house tables. As they ate, Lucy leaned close to Tonks and whispered, "I have to talk to you about something."

"What's that?" Tonks asked with a mouth full of chicken.

"I broke up with Jordan."

"Really?"

Lucy nodded. In a low voice she told Tonks about her break up with Jordan in far more detail than she had told her mother. Tonks's eyes widened.

"He grabbed your arm?" she asked.

Lucy nodded. "Pretty hard too."

"That's horrible. He's a dick. I'm so glad you dumped him."

"Me too. I feel a little better now that I have. I still feel kind of weird but a little better."

"That's good."

"I think I knew for a very long time that I had to break up with Jordan but I never did, I don't know why. I guess it was because he was the first person to really find me attractive and I… I don't know, I guess I didn't think anyone would."

"You are attractive!" Tonks said. "I think you're very attractive. I'm attracted – I mean…."

Lucy laughed as Tonks's cheeks turned bright red. "It's okay, I know what you mean," she said. "I think you're very attractive too. Jordan was gross and I'm glad that I finally got up the nerve to dump him."

"I'm glad you did too," Tonks said. "Boys are gross."

"They are," Lucy said with a laugh.

They finished their dinner and soon it was time to say goodbye. Tonks headed down to the Hufflepuff dorms and Lucy went up to her mother's office in Gryffindor tower where she would spend the rest of her time before sneaking out to meet back up with her friends.

She had to wait a while before she got the chance to sneak out. Minerva left on her nightly patrol through the Hogwarts corridors a little later than usual but finally she came back and Lucy heard her go into her bedroom. She got up, picked up her backpack and pulled out the bottle of firewhiskey she had hidden under the bed. She stuffed the bottle in her bag and picked up a black notebook sitting on her bedside table. Pulling out a pen, she started writing in the book.

 _L: Mum just went to bed. Astronomy Tower, ten minutes._

 _C: Map says the route is clear for you, Tonks._

Using the Marauders' Map and their magically connected notebooks, Charlie gave Lucy and Tonks directions to the Tower that avoid Filch the Caretaker and his infuriating cat, Mrs. Norris. Also part of the small group of Hogwarts staff that did not like Lucy very much. Lucy was definitely very good at making friend.

Lucy and Tonks were sitting precariously on the railing when finally Charlie and Bill came up. They jumped off the rail and Tonks spread out a blanket near the edge of the tower. They sat down in a small circle and Charlie put the map down in the middle so they could keep an eye out for anyone who might be coming their way. Lucy pulled out the whiskey bottle, Tonks handed out more blankets she stole from her common room, and Bill and Charlie pulled out the containers of food that they had snuck from the Great Hall at dinner. The boys made faces at being handed yellow and black striped blankets but the chilly May breeze made them change their minds pretty quickly. The four friends had a feast on the Astronomy Tower with their booze and leftovers. They talked, told bad jokes, laughed, and played games like Would You Rather, What If, and Veritaserum or Imperio.

"Alright, Lucy, _Veritaserum_ or _Imperio_?" Bill asked.

" _Imperio_ ," Lucy said. "I'm no wimp."

"Okay," Bill said thoughtfully, trying to think up a good dare. " _Imperio_ ; you have to take five shots of this."

"Great, bring it on," Lucy said with a smile though she was already feeling a bit tipsy.

Bill conjured up five shot glasses and filled them up. "Ever done shots before?"

"She goes to university, Bill," Tonks said with a laugh. "What do you think?"

Lucy laughed and grabbed the first shot. She threw them back pretty fast. They burnt the back of her throat on their way down but she felt fine. She could handle her booze. As Tonks said, she was a university student after all.

"Alright," she said. "Charlie, _Veritaserum_ or _Imperio_?"

" _Veritaserum_ ," he said.

"Wimp," Tonks said.

"I definitely cannot hold my boozes like Lucy can," Charlie said with a laugh. "I'll admit it."

"Okay, hmm... have you ever slept with anyone?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I have," he replied. "Eva Stanton."

"In Slytherin?" Tonks asked shocked.

"Yep," he said with a nod. "I've only ever done it once. With her. It was last Christmas when we stayed over at Hogwarts because Mum and Dad were taking the others too Great Aunt Muriel's and Bill and I didn't want to go."

"He's telling the truth," Bill said, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle. "He told me after it happened."

"Where?" Tonks asked excitedly.

"Well, we were the only Gryffindors staying over Christmas," Charlie said with a little smile, "so I brought her back to my dorm room."

"Oh my god," Lucy said. "If my mum had caught you..." she shook her head. "You would be so dead."

Charlie smirked. "I know but she didn't so everything was okay."

"I can't believe your first time was with a Slytherin," Bill mumbled with a shake of his head.

"Eh, Eva's not a bad Slytherin," he said. "We just never really hit it off when we were talking so we didn't go out again."

"Wow," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Okay, my turn," Charlie said. "Tonks, _Veritaserum_ or _Imperio_?"

" _Imperio_."

" _Imperio_ ; kiss the sexiest person here."

"The sexiest person here?" Tonks said. "This one's kind of a Veritaserum mixed in with an Imperio. That's not fair."

"As the game master –"

"Who made you game master?" Lucy asked Bill with a raised eyebrow.

"I did, just now," Bill replied. "I say it's fair. Do it, Tonks."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Fine," she mumbled, looking around at the three people in front of her. "Hmm... who do I think is the sexiest?"

She didn't have to think about it very long. In one quick motion, she leaned over and gave Lucy a peck on the cheek. Lucy's eyes widened in shock for a second before she smile a shy little smile and whispered, "You think I'm the sexiest?"

"Definitely," Tonks said with a laugh. "I mean have you seen these two loser?"

"I'll have you know that I am very sexy," Bill said. "And Sylvia Dolson definitely thinks Charlie is sexy."

They all laughed as Charlie's ears went bright red. "Shut up, Bill."

"Alright, my turn," Tonks said. "Hmm... who should I choose?"

Before she could decide however, Lucy pointed at the map. "Dumbledore, coming this way."

"Let's go," Bill said, standing up quickly.

He pulled out his wand and vanished the rest of the food and booze as Charlie folded up the map and Tonks grabbed the blankets. They ran down the stairs of the tower and used the map to help walk Tonks to the Hufflepuff common room without running into anyone. After dropping off Tonks they went back up to Gryffindor Tower. Bill and Charlie walked Lucy to Minerva's office before going back to their own dorm.

Lucy snuck back into her bedroom and laid down on her bed. She still felt a little tipsy from the drinking and her heart was racing from the flight from the Tower yet all she could think about was the kiss. Tonks thought she was the sexiest. Lucy didn't understand why she would but it made her really happy inside.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review telling me what you think so I know that people still exist who want to read more haha


	35. Interlude II

**A *not so short* Short Interlude - Part 2/2 -** In which Lucy Collins has an interesting week

"Fine, Lucy. If you're going to be like that then I'm going to stop calling. I mean it. This is it. It's over. I'm not going to call back. Good riddance."

Lucy rolled her eyes as she deleted that message too. She didn't mind if he thought that he was the one who pulled the plug, if that's what he needed to save his ego she would let him have it. She was just glad to be done with him.

She was still feeling a little bit of tension inside that hadn't gone away since but it was getting better. Slowly. She was spending more time with her friends, thinking about her future and what she wanted from her life more, a product of hanging around Charlie and Tonks as they went through career pamphlets, and had come to a few conclusions that she was still coming to terms with. Things were still a little confusing and she hadn't come up with solutions for all her problems but hopefully those cleared up soon too.

All this confusion, tension and indecision culminated in a very interesting week near the end of May

Tuesday night the moon was high in the sky, the castle was asleep and Minerva had gone to bed after her nightly patrol. A small red fox scurried across the grounds away from the castle. She could see the Black Lake and Hagrid's hut coming up in the distance.

"Lucy Marie Collins! What in Merlin's name are you doing out of bed so late?"

Shit.

The fox turned to see Minerva, who's extremely regimented schedule should have her in bed right now, striding across the grounds towards her. The fox stepped forward and suddenly changed back into a human. Lucy looked up at her mother with a worried expression on her face when she noticed something off. Maybe it was in the way Minerva was walking, maybe it was the arch of her brow just not being sharp enough, maybe it was that she was standing slightly shorter than usual. Whatever it was, it made Lucy smirk.

"Nice try. You almost had me there."

Minerva laughed and suddenly her features began to distort until she looked like Tonks, bright pink hair and all. "Ah man, what was it that gave it away?"

"I think I know my mother," Lucy said with a laugh. "I don't know. I could just tell something was a little off. That impression was almost spot on though."

"Thanks, I've been practicing. Really freaked out some first years a couple days back."

"Nice!"

"So," Tonks said, "where are we headed?"

Lucy shrugged. "I didn't really have any other real plans aside from meet by the lake," she said, looking around the grounds. "Any ideas?"

Tonks shrugged too and they started walking down the grassy hills of the ground. Lucy was about to say something when suddenly Tonks shoved her and ran. "Tag!"

Lucy laughed. "How old are you?" she called as she ran after her friend.

Tonks looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Lucy. Lucy rolled her eyes and transformed back into a fox as she ran. Tonks looked back and saw the fox coming after her. "Hey! That's cheating!"

Tonks turned around to run faster when her foot got caught on a rock that she didn't notice until it was too late and she fell. She fell with a grace that only the truly graceless could accomplish.

"Ouf," she mumbled as she turned over onto her back. The fox hopped onto her chest and gave her a look. If a fox could raise their eyebrow, Tonks was sure that this fox would be right now. She rolled her eyes and pushed the fox's muzzle away from her. "Shut up."

The fox yipped to say that she had not said a thing but Tonks just shoved her off and sat up. Tonks shook her head and laughed as she ran her fingers through her hair to remove any grass that may have settled there. Lucy transformed back into her human form and crossed her legs, giving her friend a look.

"May I remind you that this was your idea?"

"You may not."

"Oh, oops."

Tonks laughed. "Get up," she muttered as she pushed herself to her feet. She looked over to see that they had made it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "Hmm…."

Lucy got up too and Tonks motioned to the forest with her head. "Sure."

Tonks started walking towards the trees and Lucy followed after her. They walked through the first few trees when Lucy said, "We should, um, probably do something so that we can find our way back out afterwards."

"That's probably a good idea," Tonks said, turning back around. "What should we do?"

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled, looking around. She walked up to a tree close by and set a hand on the bark. Suddenly a blue glowing X appeared on the tree. "We'll just follow the X's on the way back."

"Nice!" Tonks said, pulling out her wand. "Lumos."

The tip of her wand lit up and she walked further into the forest. Lucy followed after her, holding out a hand and creating a small flame in her palm to provide more light. She created a blue X on a tree every few feet.

The forest was thick and dark. Sometimes the trees would thin enough to let some moonlight through the canopy. The light created frightening shadows through the leaves that moved when the breeze blew.

"The forest really is creepy," Tonks said.

"It is," Lucy said. "I suppose that's why it's called the Forbidden Forest."

"I think this is the only place on campus that we haven't been too yet," Tonks said. "Does the map show the forest as well or just the castle?"

"Just the castle, I think," Lucy said. "I don't think Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs –"

"Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers," Tonks added.

"Right, those ones," Lucy said with a smile. "I don't think they mapped the whole grounds, just the castle and all its rooms."

"Except for the Room of Requirements," Tonks said. "Do you think they knew about that room?"

"They must have," Lucy said. "I can't imagine people who could make a map like that and not have discovered the Room of Requirements. I mean we did that and we're… well, you three aren't exactly the brightest of the bright."

"Shut up," Tonks said with a laugh, giving Lucy a shove.

Lucy smiled. "Anyways, maybe the Room of Requirements just can't be mapped. There are spells that can make rooms and buildings unplottable, meaning you can't find them on maps. Maybe there's something like that on the Room."

"Yeah, that make sense," Tonks said. "Well, I guess, since we've finally made it here to the Forest, we have officially broken every single school rule."

"Congratulations, Tonks."

"Congratulations, Lucy."

"My mother is going to murder me."

"Your mother is going to expel me."

They exchanged looks and laughed.

"Anyways," Tonks said, "What do you think lives in the Forest?"

Lucy thought for a second. "Hmm, centaurs, Hagrid's creatures," she lowered her voice, moved closer to Tonks and in a creepy whisper continued, "Monsters!"

Tonks laughed and pushed her away. Lucy smiled and shook her head. They walked further through the woods, pushing aside branches, looking at flowers, and climbing through bushes. They talked about life, what they wanted to do after school, plans for London when they both finally moved their together.

They walked through a bush and stumbled upon a clearing. Lucy stopped and stared with wide eyes but Tonks kept walking.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked, grabbing her arm to make her stop. She pointed out at the clearing where a herd of black, skeletal looking, winged horses with hollow white eyes were grazing. "Look!"

Tonks looked over but saw nothing. "What?"

"There! Don't you see them? They're huge!" Lucy said, letting go of Tonks's arm and walking a little closer to the herd. One of the horses closest to her stopped grazing and stared down at her. Lucy approached it slowly but it didn't move. It stood unnaturally still, not even breathing.

"Lucy, I don't see anything." Tonks frowned and looked around uncertainly.

"But - but they're right here!" Lucy said, reaching out a hand and touching the horse's muzzle. It felt like she was touching bones. The horse didn't move so she patted it a little. "It's a horse with wings. You can't see it?"

"Oh! You're seeing a Thestral!" Tonks said. "We learned about them in Care of Magical Creatures. They're…" suddenly her smile faded and she stared at Lucy. "Lucy... you can only see them if - if you've seen... someone die."

Lucy's hand fell from the thestral's muzzle and she turned back around to look at Tonks. "What?"

"Professor Kettleburn said that only people who have witnessed death and gained an emotional understanding of what death means can see them. When Hagrid brought them out no one in class could see them," Tonks explained. "We were all convinced it was some sort of joke until bites started being taken out of the piece of meat Hagrid gave them."

"Oh," Lucy said, looking back at the thestral. It stared at her, white eyes boring into her.

"Can… can I ask who you've seen die?" Tonks asked a little uncertainly.

"Ah, yeah," Lucy said quietly. "It was my dad. I was in the hospital room when he passed away."

"Oh, I'm really sorry, Lucy."

"It's okay. I'm okay," Lucy said, walking back towards Tonks.

Tonks gave her a small smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go," Lucy said. "I'm okay."

Tonks nodded and they kept walking further into the forest, leaving the thestrals behind. Tonks kept glancing over at Lucy every so often to make sure that she was okay but Lucy seemed fine. They walked in silence for a while before suddenly Lucy spoke again, more to prove that she was in fact okay than anything else.

"So, Tonks?"

"Yeah?"

"What's up between you and Bill?" Lucy asked with an annoying smile.

Tonks rolled her eyes and gave her another shove.

Lucy laughed and shoved her back. "Come on! I know there's something between you guys."

"And what about you and Charlie?" Tonks replied annoyingly.

"There's nothing going on between me and Charlie," Lucy replied.

"Yeah sure," Tonks mumbled. "It's not like you and him keep accidentally touching hands and then awkwardly looking away."

Now it was Lucy's turn to roll her eyes. "And you and Bill never have any awkward moments ever, right?"

"I think after everything that happened with Freddie Radcliffe last year I'm ready to swear off guys," Tonks said, cheeks going a little pink.

Lucy laughed. "I'm ready to swear off guys too. Anyways, I think you improved Freddie's school uniform, honestly."

"Oh yeah, that colour changing ink really accentuates his eyes," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Do you like Bill?"

"Yeah, we're friends."

"No! You know what I mean!" Lucy said.

"I don't know, Lucy," Tonks mumbled. "I know that you like Charlie - don't try to convince me you don't - but I don't think I can think about Bill like that, you know."

Lucy nodded.

"Besides, I think I've ruined my chances by saying that I thought you were the sexist and not him."

Lucy smiled too. "Do you really think I'm sexy or was that just a joke?"

"Of course I think you're sexy. It's Veritaserum, Lucy, I can't lie. I think I explode or something if I do," she said with a smile. She looked over at Lucy. "Also, I don't want to give our mothers the satisfaction of me getting with Bill."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you know? Our parents, well, our mums, are betting on who of us are going to get together," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I heard my mum talking with Mrs. Weasley over the Floo during spring break," Tonks told her with a shake of her head. "My mum and your mum are betting on me and Bill and you and Charlie getting together but Mrs. Weasley thinks it'll be me and Charlie and you and Bill."

"Oh god," Lucy mumbled, rubbing her eyes with her hands exasperatedly. "Why must they do this?"

Tonks laughed. "Because they're annoying."

"Maybe we should freak them all out by doing something they won't see coming," Lucy said.

"Like what?"

"I have not thought that far ahead yet," Lucy said, "but I'm leaning towards eloping."

"With who?"

"Not sure yet."

"We'll come up with something," Tonks said with a laugh. She jumped ahead of Lucy and walked backwards in front of her. "Until then we'll - augh!"

Tonks stumbled backwards into a huge cobweb. She struggled and tried to get all the webs off of her but it was stuck to her clothes. Lucy ran up and helped her get it all off.

"Oh my god," she muttered. "This is so gross!"

Lucy laughed. "Oh, calm down," she said. "It's coming off."

Lucy helped her brush the cobwebs off her jacket and jeans before looking around for more. There were a lot of them hanging from the trees and over the bushes. The white cobwebs glowed slightly in the moonlight.

"Lucy..." Tonks said, sounding very scared now as she looked around at the mess of cobwebs as well. "I just thought of something."

"Yeah?"

"How big would a spider have to be to make a web this big?"

Tonks's question did not take very long to answer. Lucy saw something move behind her friend's shoulder and her eyes widened. Suddenly she realized that they were being watched by hundreds of huge yellow eyes. She looked around and saw giant spiders sitting on the tree branches around them and looking at them hungrily.

"Tonks..." she whispered, though she was quite sure the spiders already knew they were here. She grabbed Tonks's arm and pushed her back the way they came. "Run!"

"What?" Tonks said though she started running. She looked back over her shoulder and her eyes widened when she saw the giant spiders scurry towards them. "Oh my god! Go! Go! Go!"

Lucy hurried behind her friend as she heard the thunder of long legs coming towards them. "Look for the X's!"

Lucy's heart was beating so fast and as she and Tonks ran from tree to tree with Lucy's blue X's on them. Tonks jumped over a protruding tree root and called, "Watch out for that -"

It was too late. Lucy's foot caught on the root and she fell forward. "Shit!"

Tonks quickly turned around and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on! Get up!"

Lucy tried to push herself up quickly but a spider grabbed her by the leg and pulled her towards it. She screamed and kicked as hard as she could but the spider held on tight. She turned quickly, stretched out her arm, and shot a ball of fire at the spider. The spider fell backwards and let her go. Tonks pulled Lucy up to her feet and looked around.

"Oh no," she whispered.

Lucy looked around as well and her eyes widened. They were completely surrounded. The spiders stood around them, moving in closer and closer. They stood back to back and hands, wands up at the ready. Lucy shot more fireballs and Tonks sent Stunners every which way as well but they were vastly outnumbered.

"What are we going to do?" Tonks yelled, shooting a spider that jumped at her with a repelling charm.

Before Lucy could respond a shower of arrows fell onto four of the spiders closest to her. The thundering of hooves could be heard behind them. Lucy turned around in time to see a huge horse jump over the two of them and kick the spiders away. It was a centaur! The centaur had long white-blond hair and a palomino body. He shot more spiders with arrows and back kicked some others.

"Be gone, vile creatures!" the centaur yelled as he showered the oncoming forces in more arrows. "Fall back and more of your brothers need not die!"

It took only a couple more arrows and a few more back kicks for the remaining spiders to get the idea and run off.

When the last spider had disappeared into the trees it had come from, the centaur looked back at the girls. "Are you two alright?"

Lucy took a deep breath and nodded. "Y—yes," she said. "Thank you. Thank you."

"Yeah, thank you so much," Tonks said, staring at the centaur. "We – we would have been goners if it weren't for you, sir."

"The Forest is no place for children to be taking late night strolls," the centaur said. "There are creatures here worse than you have already encountered that wish to do you harm."

"Worse than giant spiders?" Tonks asked with a shudder.

"Yes, far worse. They will not care if you are children. Or," he looked at Lucy, "if you are a child of a professor at the school."

Lucy stared at him. "I – well – how did you know?"

"We centaurs know a lot of things," he said with a small smile. "Now, you must leave this forest. It is not safe. Do you know the way out from here?"

"Yeah, there's our tree," Tonks said, pointing at a tree nearby with a blue X on it.

"Excellent," the centaur said. "I shall leave you to it."

"Wait! We didn't get your name," Lucy said.

He smiled again and said, "My name is Firenze."

"Well, I'm Lucy Collins and this is Nymphadora Tonks," Lucy said with a small smile. "Thank you, Firenze, for saving us."

"Yeah, we really owe you one," Tonks said. "I know that centaurs don't really care for humans very much."

"Well, we do not hurt innocents," Firenze said. "But I would leave now. There is no telling what else you may encounter if you remain much longer. Goodbye, young ones."

With that he thundered away, leaving Lucy and Tonks alone again. Lucy looked at Tonks before motioning for her to go. They ran as fast as they could out of the forest. They passed through the trees, jumping over logs and rocks. They ran through the clearing with the thestrals without slowing down for a second.

Even when they reached the edge of the forest, they kept running, passing Hagrid's hut and making it halfway up to the castle before finally losing steam. Lucy fell down onto her back and put her hands over her face, trying to catch her breath. Tonks fell down opposite her so that their heads were right next to each other. They didn't talk for a really long time, just staring up at the stars.

"That was terrifying," Tonks mumbled finally.

"That was a bad idea."

"I know. We literally almost died."

"Thank god for Firenze."

"No kidding."

"I think that we should probably go back to the castle," Lucy said. She looked over at Tonks and gave her a small smile. "I think that might be enough for one night."

Tonks smiled. "You're probably right," she said. She looked over at Lucy. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too," Lucy said. There was silence for a really long time where the two girls just looked at each other until finally bursting into laughter.

Tonks recovered first and spoke again. "I think I'm going to have nightmares about giant spiders for like a month."

"Me too," Lucy said with a laugh, getting up off the ground. She held out a hand to help Tonks up. Tonks smiled and took her hand. As they walked up to the castle, still laughing and feeling a little high from their near death experience, Tonks put her arm around Lucy's shoulders and Lucy put her arm around her waist. They may have almost died but Lucy felt a little bit of the tension inside her unwind a little as she walked with Tonks up to the castle.

…

Wednesday during class, Tonks pulled out her notebook and told Bill and Charlie all about their adventure in the Forest.

 _C: Wow! A centaur! That's so cool!_

 _B: I can't believe that you two snuck off into the forest and didn't get caught!_

 _T: I hope that Firenze doesn't tell your mum._

 _L: No, I think we're safe. I wish we could talk to him again though. I'd love to learn more about centaurs_

 _C: Centaurs like to stay away from humans so I doubt he'd go out of his way to tell Professor McGonagall about this. Which is good for you, Tonks! They could expel you for something like that._

 _B: Yeah! Being out of bed is one thing but out in the Forest? That's insane._

 _L: But we didn't get caught so it's okay._

 _T: Besides it's not like we're going to do that again. You really only need to be almost eaten by giant spiders once to get the hint that the forest might not be the greatest place to hang out._

 _B: Lucy, I'm in class with your mum right now. Maybe I could let her know for you..._

 _L: Don't you dare, Bill Weasley, or I will be forced to... do something terrible to you._

 _B: Excellent threat, Collins._

 _C: I'd be careful if I were you, Bill. She may not have come up with something yet but when she does... I wish you luck._

 _T: What are you in right now, Charlie?_

 _C: Charms. You?_

 _T: I'm in Potions. Snape is giving me the evil eye. I'm writing your notes, you twat!_

 _L: You three are great students._

 _B: Shut up. I hate that you don't have class._

 _C: Seconded._

 _T: Thirded? Thriced?_

 _L: Oh, stop. Would you rather I was away at Oxford?_

 _C: Yes._

 _B: Nah, I'm not that mean._

 _T: Charlie is, apparently._

 _L: If I wasn't here who would have your back with my mum, huh?_

 _C: Fair._

 _B: Speaking of which, she's walking over. Gotta go._

 _C: That kid is going to get us all caught one of these days._

 _T: Eh, these notebooks were a good idea. They make it look like you're actually taking notes so the professors don't really know. Unless..._

 _L: I have not told my mother about these, if that's what you're suggesting._

 _T: I would never._

 _C: Tonks and I have Study Hall next period, are you going to come down, Lucy?_

 _L: No, sorry. I'm waiting for Nina and Daniel to call. They were supposed to call five minutes ago! What is taking them so long?!_

 _B: Hmm… it's almost like they want to enjoy their honeymoon without you annoying them. Strange._

 _L: Shut up, Bill. I thought you were gone._

 _B: I left to impress your mother with my amazing Transfigurations skills and now that she is sufficiently impressed, I am back._

 _L: I doubt my mother is sufficiently impressed by you, Bill._

 _B: Oh, she was definitely sufficiently impressed last night._

 _C: You set him up for that one._

 _T: You really did._

 _L: All three of you are –_

 _C: Amazing?_

 _T: Wonderful?_

 _B: The best friends anyone could ever have?_

 _L: Horrible. Talking to Nina now. Bye!_

 _T: Tell Nina and Daniel I said hi._

 _C: Me too!_

 _L: I will._

Lucy closed her notebook and turned her attention back to the phone in her hand. "Sorry about that, I'm back."

"That's alright, love," Nina's voice came through the phone. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Lucy said, leaning back in her chair. She was sitting in Minerva's desk chair in her office. "How are you and Daniel doing? How's the honeymoon going? I miss you guys so much."

Nina laughed. "It's going well. We're having a lot of fun but we both miss you too. He's having a massage right now, you know."

"Wow," Lucy said. "I didn't think Daniel liked massages."

"He thought he didn't but I convinced him to go and I suppose we'll see how he likes it when he gets back," Nina said. "Tell me about you. I know you're not having the greatest time right now. You and Jordan broke up?"

"Yeah, I broke up with him," Lucy said. "I feel good about it. I wasn't having the greatest time but I think my mood definitely improved with him no longer in my life."

"That's good, I'm glad," Nina said. "And now my mother isn't around to get you down either."

Lucy laughed. "I, of course, love your mother, Nina."

"Mmhmm," Nina said. She laughed. "No, it's alright. I'm glad your mood is improving. Daniel and I were a little worried about you. You seemed pretty out of it last time we talked."

"Yeah, I was… I wasn't in the greatest place then. I'm better now though."

"Good."

"Um, I did want to talk to you about something though," Lucy said a little uncertainly. "Now's probably a good time since Daniel's not around."

"What is it, love?" Nina asked.

"Um… how long do you think you have to wait between breaking up with someone before you date someone else?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, there's no real set time," Nina said with a little laugh. "It all depends on you and if you think you're ready. It sounds like you didn't like Jordan and are happy with the break up so it may take less time for you to want to start dating someone new."

"Hmm."

"Time is not as important as how you feel. If you still feel down from the break up then you may want to wait a little while longer. If you feel like you're in a place where you feel you're ready for something new then totally get back out there."

"And what if… what if you like someone but you don't think they like you back?" she asked.

"Well, how do you know they don't like you back?" Nina asked.

"I'm pretty sure they don't," Lucy said. "Not like that at least. Would you still tell someone you liked them even if you were sure they didn't like you back like that?"

"Maybe they do like you back. You'll never know if you don't talk to them."

"What if... what if you knew that you shouldn't like them but you do?" Lucy asked.

"You can like whoever you want, Lucy," Nina said. "I mean as long as they're not like sixty seven."

"No, they're not sixty seven," Lucy said with a small smile. She thought for a second and then her smile faded. "But - but they are my friend. What if me telling them that I like them scares them away and they don't want to be friends with me anymore?"

"I don't think that would happen," Nina reassured her. "If they don't like you back that's okay but you are too awesome for them to not want to be friends with you anymore."

Lucy smiled. "I hope so. I don't want them not to be my friend anymore and I wouldn't want to do something that would make them not be my friend."

"So you want to ask someone out but you're worried that it would jeopardise your friendship with that person?" Nina asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry. I think that all of your friends would still want to be friends with you even if you told them you liked them."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Nina replied. "Now, are you going to tell me who this person is?"

"Nope," Lucy said with a smile. "Not yet."

"When then?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"After you tell them?"

"Maybe," Lucy said with a shrug.

"I hate you."

Lucy laughed.

"When are you going to tell them how you feel?" Nina asked.

Lucy sighed. "I don't know," she said. "It's kind of scary."

"It can be, yes," Nina said. "But it can also be hard to keep your feelings to yourself sometimes too. You might feel better if you tell them, even if you don't get the answer that you – oh, hello, Daniel…. Yes, I'm talking to Lucy."

There were some sounds of movement and then Daniel's voice came through the phone. "Hey, kid!"

"Hey, Daniel," Lucy said with a smile. "How are you? How was your massage?"

"It was good! Massages are actually nice. I didn't think I'd like letting strangers touch me but they're good at it."

Lucy laughed. "I'm glad you've discovered this about yourself."

"I've discovered a lot of things here," Daniel said. "I am a very good camel rider it turns out."

"He lies. He almost fell off his camel," Nina called.

"No, I didn't!"

Lucy laughed. "Well, it sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun."

Lucy talked with Nina and Daniel for a while before Minerva came back up to her office too. Lucy handed her the phone so she could talk with them as well. She collected her things so Minerva could have her desk back and headed down to meet up with Charlie, Bill, and Tonks before dinner. Tonks and Charlie were still going to through career pamphlets and freaking out about their futures. Bill was being very unhelpful as he watched them flip through requirements and wondering if it was too late to get into Arithmancy class. He, of course, had already gone through that and was happy that he already had a job in Egypt lined up for after he graduated. Charlie and Tonks's stress about their futures only made Lucy feel even less prepared for hers. She headed to dinner thoroughly worried about the direction her life was going.

After dinner Minerva was sitting on the couch in her sitting room read a book when a small fox ran across the room and hopped onto the couch as well. It rested its head on Minerva's thigh and covered its eyes with its paws. Minerva smiled, put down the book and pet the fox behind the ears.

"What's wrong, my darling?" she asked quietly. The fox didn't move. She ran her fingers through its soft fur and sighed. "Having a bad day?"

It nodded a little.

Minerva smiled. "Well, it's almost over," she said. "I know all this career advising stuff is making you confused and I understand, sweetheart, but you don't have to make any big decisions yet."

The fox backed up and transformed back to Lucy. She laid down on the couch, putting her head in her mother's lap. Minerva combed her long hair with her fingers.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Lucy mumbled, taking one of Minerva's hands and holding it tightly with both of hers. "Like with my life."

"I know, sweetheart," Minerva said, "but you don't have to worry too much yet. You still have two years and if you still don't know after two years you could always just do another degree."

Lucy smiled a little. "I don't think I want to do another degree," she said. "I don't know, Mum. I just feel like everyone else has their stuff figured out. Tonks is going to be an Auror, Charlie is going to be a Dragon Trainer, Bill is going off to Egypt to be a Curse Breaker, and I'm just here with no idea what I want to do."

"Not everyone figures it out right away," Minerva says. "I worked at the Ministry for two years before figuring out that I did not want to do that."

Lucy sighed. "I know... I just... at least you had some ideas. I'm so lost."

"It'll be okay, darling," Minerva says. "Just don't feel pressured to do one thing or another. I want you to do whatever would make you happiest. Don't go trying to please someone else."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Lucy says. "Maybe I need to just take things as they come."

"That's a good idea," Minerva replied with a smile. "You still have a lot of time, Lucy."

"Two years isn't a lot of time."

"It's enough."

"Is it?"

"If it's not then you can always take more," Minerva said. "Nothing is set in stone. There is no timeline you must follow."

Lucy nodded.

"Now, get up," Minerva said, pushing her up. "I was in the middle of a good book."

Lucy laughed and got up so Minerva could return to her book.

…

Thursday afternoon was slow and Tonks and Lucy were feeling very lazy. It was one of those days where you didn't feel like doing anything but laying in the sun and sleeping. Which was exactly what Lucy and Tonks were doing. Tonks hadn't felt up to studying so they spread a blanket out on the grounds and sat down in the sun. The birds chirped in the trees and other students ran passed them every so often, enjoying the warm weather. A warm breeze blew their hair back and rustled the tree branches and long grass.

"Lucy? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Lucy looked up. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. What?"

"I was asking when your dance competition was," Tonks said. "You said you had one this weekend, didn't you? Are you going to be able to come to the Quidditch final on Sunday?"

"Oh, yes," Lucy said with a smile, laying back on the blanket. "My competition is on Saturday so I'll be able to come to the match on Sunday."

"Awesome," Tonks said. "I wish I could come see you dance. I'd love to see you do ballet."

"You should come! Mum's probably coming, she always come to my performances. I can ask her if she can bring you too," Lucy said with a smile. "You can be there when I lose."

Tonks laughed. "You're probably not going to lose," she said. "You're great at everything you do."

"I don't know, man. I've seen some of the other girls and they're really good," Lucy said, "but, yeah, I'll ask Mum and let you know. Hopefully she says yes."

"Yeah, I'll write a letter to my mum as well. Your mum will probably want me to get parental permission first."

Lucy nodded and rolled over so she was looking up at the sky.

Tonks yawned and looked up at the clouds too. "So, where are Bill and Charlie?"

"Bill's at a N.E.W.T. Potions review and Charlie was meeting up with Sylvia Dolson."

"Ooh," Tonks said with a laugh. "I didn't know he liked her enough to ask her out."

Lucy smiled. "She asked him."

"I wish I was that confident," Tonks mumbled. "Confident enough to ask people I like out."

"Yeah, me too," Lucy agreed. "But it's kind of scary."

"I know!" Tonks exclaimed. "I just wish we could skip that part and go straight into the fun stuff."

Lucy laughed. "How could you skip that part? It's an important part."

Tonks smiled. "I don't know."

Lucy looked over at Tonks and sighed. "You know, Nina says we just have to be confident and do it. She says that, yes, it can be scary but it will be so worth it afterwards."

"Who asked who between Daniel and Nina?" Tonks asked.

"Daniel asked her," Lucy replied with a smile. "But that's because he's Daniel. He's confident and personable and never feels scared of anything."

"Daniel is really brave. I guess you have to be when you do what he does," Tonks asked.

"Yeah," Lucy whispered.

They drifted into comfortable silence, watching the clouds move quickly through the sky. The warm breeze wisped on Lucy's skin, causing goosebumps on her arms. She and Tonks laid there for a long time until finally it was time to go back inside the castle for dinner.

They folded up the picnic blanket and Lucy shrunk it so she could stick it in her pocket. She and Tonks then walked over to the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table with Bill and Charlie. The boys told them all about their days. Apparently the Potions N.E.W.T. was not going to be easy and Sylvia Dolson was way too hands-y for Charlie's liking.

After dinner, Lucy head up to the Headmaster's office for her appointment. She knocked on the door and a voice called, "enter."

"Hello, Uncle Albus," Lucy said with a smile as she walked into the office to find Albus Dumbledore sitting at his desk waiting for her.

"Good evening, Lucy," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Come in, sit down. I am definitely going to beat you today, be warned."

Lucy laughed as she closed the door and walked over to the desk. Dumbledore pulled out his chess set and they started to play. She let him go first and he poured them both some tea while she made her move.

"Uncle Albus?" Lucy asked after they were a few moves in and he had been staring at the board for a very long time.

"Yes, my dear?" he replied, not looking up from the board.

"Have you ever liked someone you knew you probably shouldn't like?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean like... like you really liked someone but..." Lucy tried to think of the right thing to say, "but you knew that it wasn't right. You knew that you're not supposed to like that person like that but you did and you couldn't help it."

"Lucy, I don't think that there is anyone who you are not supposed to like," Dumbledore said kindly. "Love a funny thing. It comes when we least expect it, for those we least expect it."

Lucy thought for a second as Dumbledore finally moved a piece on the board. She quickly moved hers and saw the surprise on his face. She smiled a little as he returned to concentrating on the board.

"So you've never liked someone you weren't supposed to?" Lucy asked.

"What makes you not supposed to like someone?"

"Um..." Lucy thought about this for a second. "I - I don't know. I guess other people."

"I don't think you should let other people decide your life for you."

"Yet," Lucy mumbled, "it seems that other people decide most of my life for me."

Dumbledore looked up and gave her a smile. "You have the power to do what you want with your life, my dear," he said. "I know that you are strong enough to fight against what others think."

"I don't know, Uncle Albus. It's hard," Lucy whispered, looking down at her hands. "I'm supposed to go work at Collins Enterprises. I'm supposed to get with Charlie Weasley. I'm supposed to... to do great things even though I don't know what those great things are."

"I know it's hard, Lucy. That's how you know it matters. You don't have to decide anything right now. You still have a lot of time."

She nodded but didn't look up.

"And to answer your question, yes. Yes, I have liked someone that I wasn't supposed to," he continued. She looked up at him in shock. "It was many, many years ago now but I do understand how it feels and I learned then, what you will also learn, that other people cannot make your feelings invalid. You feel what you feel and that is alright. You can try to hide from your emotions but every day you do it gets harder and harder to keep them inside. I understand."

She smiled a little. "I'm glad someone else gets it," she whispered. "I was beginning to think I was the only one. I thought that I was weird."

"No, you're not," he replied with a smile. "No, what you feel is probably the most human feeling in the whole world."

"Some people think how I feel is wrong."

"Some people don't try to understand."

"You don't think that... that Mum would think that, do you?" Lucy asked. "Or the rest of my family... My grandmother and my Uncle Malcolm are really religious."

Dumbledore gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't think your family would think that. I think they are very open minded and accepting people, don't you?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah... yeah, you're right," she said. Then she smiled a little. "Anne says that love is love no matter who it's between. She said that she would love me no matter what."

"Smart girl, that Anne," he replied with a smile.

"Yeah," Lucy said, her smile growing. "I don't know why I was scared to tell her. She... she always knows what to say to make me feel better."

"It's good to keep people like that around, Lucy."

"Yeah, I'm not going to let Anne go anywhere," she said with a laugh.

Dumbledore chuckled. "So it seems you've spoken to everyone except the one person you really want to talk to."

"Not everyone," Lucy said, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"Well, I think that you and Miss Tonks have a lot to talk about."

Lucy looked at him in complete horror. "How - how did you know?"

"I know a lot of things, Lucy," he said with a smile. "It's hard to hide things from me."

"You won't tell Mum, will you? I don't want anyone to know yet," she said quickly

"Don't worry," he replied. "I won't say a thing. It's not my place."

"Thank you."

Dumbledore smiled and finally moved his piece on the board. Lucy immediately moved hers. He frowned. "How many moves ahead of me are you?"

Lucy smiled. "Too many for it to be any good for you."

"You are definitely your mother's daughter."

…

On Friday night, Lucy went into London to have dinner with Amelia and Raj. She got in early, Raj hadn't gotten in from work yet, so she and Amelia were sitting in the living room of her and Raj's penthouse apartment, drinking tea.

"So, how are things up at Hogwarts?" Amelia asked. "Feeling a bit better now?"

"Yes," Lucy said, giving her a little smile. "Being up at Hogwarts with Bill, Charlie, and Tonks helps a lot. I have a lot of fun there. I miss Anne and Mitch though."

Amelia smiled. "How are they doing?"

"They're doing okay. Anne hates her job," Lucy said with a laugh. "She said that the people she has to deal with are the stupidest she's ever met."

"That'll be retail for you," Amelia said, laughing and shaking her head. "Mitch got work in research didn't he?"

"Yes, he's working in one of his professor's labs," she said. "He's having a lot more fun than his girlfriend it seems."

Amelia smiled. "I'm glad he's enjoying his work," she said. "And what about you? Still feeling a little confused, love?"

"Confused is the right word," Lucy said with a sigh. "I don't know, Aunt Amelia. Life is hard."

"I know, love," she said with a smile. "What are you confused about? Maybe I can help."

"That is one of the things I'm confused about," Lucy replied softly. "I'm confused as to why I am confused."

"Alright," Amelia said. "What else are you confused about?"

"Life. Love. Everything."

"Wow."

"I have a lot of issues, Aunt Amelia," Lucy mumbled.

"Oh, you're such a teenager," Amelia said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled. "I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life," she said. "I mean, I've done a lot of different things in school but I still don't know which one of them I actually want to spend the rest of my life doing, you know."

"I understand."

"How did you know you wanted to go into Law?" she asked.

"Hmm, well, I don't know," Amelia said. "Law and criminology have always been big interests of mine since I was quite young. I suppose it was kind of in my blood. Most of my family worked in the Law Department, you know."

"Yeah."

"Not everyone has that," Amelia said. "Not everyone has an interest that they've always had and want to pursue further, that's not a bad thing. You're young, you have time to try new things. Find the thing you want to do. Maybe you work at Collins Enterprises and you find you don't like it. That's alright. Maybe you try law, in the Muggle or Magical World, and that's what you like. Maybe you try engineering or you try clinical psychology. Maybe you try something completely different. That's up to you. I know you'll find what you like though. It just might take some time. Whatever you do decide to do, I know that you will do it to the best of your abilities and if you try your hardest and put in the work there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed."

Lucy smiled. "You really think so?"

"Of course," Amelia replied with a smile. "And when have I ever been wrong?"

"Never," Lucy said with a laugh.

Amelia smiled. "You're my favourite goddaughter, you know that."

"I'm your only goddaughter," she said, shaking her head at her aunt though she laughed. "Anyways, where's Uncle Raj? When is he getting home?"

Amelia looked at her watch. "Oh, he should be here in a half an hour or so," she said. "He said he would be a little late but that he would definitely make it in time for dinner so he could see you."

Lucy smiled. Then her smile faded and she sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Amelia said with a smile.

"How did you know that you liked Uncle Raj?" she asked.

"Well, that's quite complicated," Amelia said with a smile. "You know how long it took for us to finally get together. It nearly killed your mother."

"Yeah," Lucy said with a laugh. "She and Dad were trying to get you together from like day one I think."

"Definitely," Amelia said. "I think I realized I liked him when, one I got over my horribly stupid school girl crush."

"With Mr. Moody," Lucy said with a laugh.

"Your mother told you?" she asked, shaking her head. "I'm going to kill that woman."

"She didn't tell me," Lucy said. "I asked her after I saw you and Moody at the Potter's Christmas Party when I was seven."

"Oh god," Amelia said. "Was I that obvious?"

"It's okay," she said. "Everyone else was very drunk too."

"You really shouldn't have been there," Amelia said with a smile.

"Maybe not."

"Anyways, after he found out about magic and everything we started talking on the phone almost every night," Amelia said. "I think I knew I liked him when on the nights he didn't call me, I missed hearing his voice. I missed talking to him."

"Really?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "I think when you like someone you just know. I think I knew that Minerva was right about my feelings towards Raj for a long time but I hid them from myself. Eventually I let myself feel those feels and I knew. I think that you know when suddenly you feel incomplete when the other person isn't around. When you get happier when you see them and when just being with them is easy. You never have to worry about saying something wrong or doing something stupid because you feel comfortable with them. You can feel your heart go crazy when your hands brush together and you would go out of your way to make sure you run into them. I think you know that you really like someone when you find yourself thinking about them even when they're not around. When you can't fall asleep at night because all you can think about is what you want to talk to them about when you see them again."

Lucy sighed. "And what if you feel like that but for the wrong person?"

"I don't think you can," Amelia said with a smile. "When you love someone, who they are shouldn't matter."

"But it does," Lucy said with a frown, looking away from her aunt. "It always does."

Amelia put a hand on Lucy's shoulder and gave her a smile. "It really doesn't, darling," she said. "Maybe it feels like it does because you are young and it's a little scary but you will learn that it doesn't."

"Aunt Amelia," she whispered.

"Yes, love?"

"Can I tell you something that I haven't told anyone yet?" Lucy asked.

Amelia smiled. "Of course," she said. "You can tell me anything, darling."

"And you won't be mad?" she said. "Or tell my mum?"

"Of course not."

Lucy took a deep breath and looked down at her cup. "I - I don't know," she said quietly. "I - I think I might like... I might like girls."

Amelia smiled and put her hand on Lucy's arm. "That's okay, Lucy," she said. "You are allowed to love whoever you love. No matter if they're a girl or a boy."

Lucy looked up at her aunt with tears in her eyes. "Really?"

"Of course," Amelia said with a smile. "I know that it's hard sometimes but we support you. All of us. We love you no matter what. If you like girls that's okay."

Lucy smiled a little and wiped the tears from her face. "I can't decide," she said. "I think I like girls but I think I like boys too. Is that weird?"

"No, love. It's not weird," Amelia said. "That's perfectly normal. It's fine to like both. You've got a lot of love to give. Why restrict yourself to only one gender?"

Lucy laughed a little. She set her teacup down on the table and moved closer to Amelia. Amelia smiled and hugged her tightly. She kissed her cheek.

"I know it's scary sometimes," Amelia said, "but I'm here for you, no matter what. So is Minerva, Nina, Danial and all the rest of your family. They'll accept you no matter what too. When you're ready to tell them, I'm sure you'll find they will be just as open and accepting as well."

"I'm not worried about Nina and Daniel and Mum," Lucy said with a sigh, moving a little so that she was just leaning into her aunt's chest now. "I know that they don't care about stuff like that. And I know that Nani and Uncle Malcolm are awesome and accepting but I also know that they're really religious and I just... I just worry..."

"There is nothing you could do that would make Isobel love you less," Amelia told her reassuringly. "She'll love you no matter what. She doesn't care about stuff like that either. Nor Malcolm or anyone else in that family. They are very accepting and loving people."

"I'm a little worried though," Lucy said, "about the media. They always write mean things and when I graduate and probably go to work at Collins Enterprises, they're probably going to write even more stuff about me. And it's not going to be like the things they've written so far. It's not going to be nice things about how I graduated so early and stuff like that. It's probably going to be mean."

"It might be at the beginning, yes," Amelia said with a nod, "but nothing we can't handle."

Lucy smiled a little. She liked that Amelia said we. "There might some sexist stuff, probably some racist stuff, some stuff about my age, looks, really anything they can think of," she continued, "and I don't want to do something else that could add to that."

"Lucy, you shouldn't live your life like that," Amelia said, running her fingers through her hair. "You can't live your life to make other people happy because, honestly, no matter what you do someone somewhere is going to be all up in arms and angry. You'll never be able to please everyone no matter how hard you try. The people who are going to be angry are not worth your time or thought. Do what makes you happy, sweetheart."

"I guess, but -"

"Lucy, listen," Amelia said, giving her a little squeeze. "You have so little time on this Earth and it will go by so fast. You should not swindle all your time trying to please other people. I want you to take this one life that you have and do everything you've ever wanted to do with it. Do things that will make you happy. Don't worry what other people think. The people that matter are going to be the ones that love you no matter what you decide to do or who you decide to love."

Lucy nodded. "You're right," she said. "It's just hard sometimes."

"I know, love, I know," Amelia said. "I think it's especially hard when you're so young. I know that there is a lot of pressures to be the way that other people your age are and even though you missed out on high school you're still kind of getting it but it'll get better. It always does."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "I'm glad I told you," she said. "It feels so good to get it off my chest."

"I'm glad you told me too," she said with a smile, kissing her cheek again. "I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me these kinds of things. First as well."

"I'll tell everyone else," Lucy said. "Eventually."

Amelia smiled. "Whenever you feel ready," she said. "It's in your own time always."

Lucy nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course."

Raj came home soon enough and they all sat down for dinner. Lucy felt a lot better after talking with her Aunt Amelia and was in a very good moody when she went back up to Hogwarts.

Lucy appeared in the fireplace in Minerva's Hogwarts office late after dinner. Minerva looked up from her work and smiled. "Hello, darling."

"Hey, Mum," Lucy said with a smile, stepping out and brushing the ash off her clothes.

"Please try not to get too much ash on the carpet."

"Sorry," she said, looking around to make sure her shoes were clean before walking over to the desk and sitting down on the chair in front of her mother.

"That's alright," Minerva replied with a smile. "How was your dinner with Amelia and Raj?"

"It was good," Lucy said. "Aunt Amelia cooked some awesome food. She made so much. Uncle Raj was a little late because of some meeting."

"Yes, I think some big business man from America was in town or something like that."

"He didn't seem like he had a very fun meeting," Lucy said with a smile.

"Well, it seems it ran quite late."

Lucy nodded. "Anyways," she said. "My dance competition is tomorrow. Are you going to come?"

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. I love watching you dance."

"Well, you'll get to watch me lose," Lucy said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "I was at the studio earlier today and saw some of the other contestants and, honestly, don't think I'm even going to place."

"You always say that," Minerva said with a smile.

"Also... I was wondering if I could invite Tonks to come watch too," Lucy asked. "She wants to come see me dance too."

"She has to get permission from her mother," Minerva replied.

"She did. Mrs. Tonks said yes," Lucy replied, pulling the letter out of her pocket and handed it to Minerva.

Minerva took it and opened it up. She read the note inside and nodded. "Alright," she said. "She can come."

"Yay! Thank you, Ama!" Lucy said happily.

Minerva smiled. "It's alright," she said. "Now," she pushed some papers towards her. "I have to read and fill out these forms for our passport renewals so the two of us can actually go to Prague in July. Why don't you fill out what you can for me and I can get back to my fourth years' essays."

Lucy sighed and pulled the papers towards her. "I didn't want to do work. I'm on my summer break."

"Oh, poor baby," Minerva said, tossing a pen towards her.

Lucy smiled, picked up the pen, and got to work.

...

Saturday morning, Tonks walked up Gryffindor Tower and knocked on Minerva's office door.

"Come in."

Tonks walked in wearing her Muggle clothes and a small beaded bag around her shoulder. "Hello, Professor," she said with a smile. "Is Lucy gone already?"

"Yes, she left quite early this morning," Minerva replied, standing up from her desk after putting her things away. "She wanted to practice a little bit more before the competition. Shall we head out."

Tonks nodded. Minerva pulled out her jar filled with Floo Powder and held it out for Tonks. Tonks grabbed a handful of powder and walked into the fireplace. She threw the powder down into the fire and said, "Collins Mansion."

The office spun out of view around her and she reappeared in the living room of Lucy's house where Raj was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.

"Hello, Tonks," he said with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Pail," she said, stepping out of the fireplace. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you for asking," he said. "Lucy's just upstairs in her bedroom if you'd like to go up."

Tonks nodded and left the room as Minerva appeared in the fireplace as well. Walking up the stairs and across the hall, she stopped in from in Lucy's door and knocked.

"Come in," Lucy's voice came through the door.

Tonks opened the door and said, "Hey."

Lucy was sitting on her bed her her back turned to the door. Amelia was standing in front of her doing her makeup. Amelia gave Tonks a smile. "Hello, Tonks."

Lucy turned to look at her too. "Hey!"

"So, how's the caking going," Tonks asked, coming around the bed.

"I'm not caking," Amelia said. "My makeup skills are extraordinary."

"Usually Nina does my makeup," Lucy said, "but since she picked my brother over me I have to settle for Aunty Amelia."

Amelia gave her a look. "I could always do something very tasty with this eyeliner, Lucy, be careful."

Lucy smiled. "Sorry, Aunty Amelia," she said. She looked over at Tonks who was sitting down on her desk chair. "Aunty Amelia did Mum's make up for her wedding. She's really good at that kind of stuff. Hair and makeup and stuff. Not as good as Nina but still really good."

Amelia moved Lucy's head back into place with a little more force than necessary and Lucy whined about her fingers hurting.

Tonks laughed. "Well, you look great, Lucy."

Lucy was sporting light pink eyeshadow with winged black eyeliner. The mascara on her eyelashes made them look very long and her cloudy grey eyes were piercing against the black of the makeup. She was wearing the bottom part of her costume without her pink tutu.

"Thanks," she said, blushing a little bit.

"Alright, hold still now," Amelia said. "Let me finish."

Tonks sat down at the chair by Lucy's desk and watched as Amelia brushed brown and pink over her cheeks. She then put a red lipstick on Lucy's lips, had her close her eyes, and sprayed her with a setting spray. When that was done they moved onto hair. Lucy turned and Amelia sat down behind her. She combed through Lucy's long black hair and tied it in a tight high bun. She put an elastic around the bun and a thin hair net over it to stop any fly aways. Amelia pinned a silver tiara in Lucy's hair and then sprayed about half a can of hairspray over her.

"All done," Amelia said finally. She helped Lucy off the bed and she twirled around.

"How do I look?"

"You look awesome!" Tonks said, standing up too. "I never realized how intense the makeup and stuff was for this kind of thing."

"Oh yeah," Lucy said. "These competitions are intense."

"One hair out of place and you can get docked marks," Amelia said with a shake of her head. "Everything needs to be perfect and stay perfect. Which means don't go smudging your makeup."

Lucy nodded. She looked at Tonks. "Where's Mum?"

"She's downstairs in the living room."

"Okay, let's go," Lucy said, picking up her ballet shoes and bag from the bed and running out of the room. Tonks followed after her. Amelia smiled and put away her things before following them downstairs too. Lucy ran down the stairs and into the living room where Minerva and Raj were sitting.

"You look beautiful, Princess," Raj said with a smile as he stood up.

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile.

Minerva smiled and stood up as well. "Amelia did a good job."

"Thank you," Amelia said, walking into the room.

"Alright, let's get going then," Raj said. "We don't want to be late."

The five of them walked out of the house and got into the car. Tonks had never been in a car before. She was terrified as Raj pulled out and started speeding down the road. Lucy laughed. She reached over and gave Tonks's hand a squeeze.

"Don't be scared," Lucy said. "Driving is fun. I'm going to get my licence in August."

"Amelia, when are you going to get yours?" Raj asked, looking over at her with a smile.

Amelia gave him a look. "I do not require a car to get around quickly."

"But it's a nice skill to have," Lucy said. "Mum doesn't have one either."

"Amelia is right. We can get around much quicker without one," Minerva muttered. "I like not having to worry about traffic."

"Precisely," Amelia said. "And if I do ever have the desire to take forever getting somewhere I'll just take the tube."

"Aunt Amelia is terrified of driving," Lucy told Tonks. "Uncle Raj always makes fun of her for it."

"I'm not terrified," Amelia said, glaring back at Lucy.

"'Oh, Lucy, watch out for that!' 'That's a stop sign!' 'Slow down, slow down, slow down!'" Lucy said, imitating her aunt. Tonks, Minerva and Raj laughed while Amelia just rolled her eyes.

"That was a very good impression," Raj said with a smile.

"It was not," Amelia mumbled.

"I think it was spot on," Tonks said with a laugh. Lucy smiled.

They pulled into the parking lot of the hall that the dance competition was being held at. Minerva took Lucy backstage to check in and get ready for the dance while Amelia, Raj and Tonks went to sit down. Tonks looked around and saw so many girls in tutus. All looking beautiful with their makeup and hair done. She, Raj and Amelia sat down a couple rows away from the stage.

"I've never been to a dance competition before," Tonks said as they sit down.

"They are long, I'm warning you now," Amelia said though she smiled. She opened the program that she had gotten on the door. "Lucy's doing a solo and a pas de deux."

"What's that?"

"A duet," Amelia replied.

"I do love coming to see her dance," Raj said, taking Amelia's hand in his. "I am her number one fan, of course."

"You are," Amelia said with a smile.

Minerva came back to sit with them a little while later, sitting down on Raj's other side, and the program began. Tonks thought the host was a little annoying but she was excited to see the performances. The judges were introduced and the crowd cheered very loudly. Apparently the judges were quite famous dancers but Tonks didn't know them.

"They are very famous ballet dancers. Performed all around the world," Amelia explained to Tonks.

"Wow, so this is like a pretty big deal, huh?" Tonks said.

"Biggest Ballet competition in Europe," Amelia said with a smile. "I'm very proud of Lucy for making it this far."

"Wow," Tonks said. "The biggest."

The competition started and music floated through the room. Tonks watched girls and boys come out onto the stage and perform. There were group categories and single categories. Finally it was Lucy's turn. The announcer introduced her and her partner, Brad Geller. The lights dimmed and soft, delicate music began to play. The lights turned back up and Lucy danced out onto the stage with a handsome blonde boy. They danced intimately together, twirling and jumping. Tonks watched Lucy move around with grace and beauty that she herself could never have. Her movements were fluid and controlled yet gentle and light at the same time. Her feet moved swiftly and delicately as she moved around the stage with the Brad.

"Wow," Tonks whispered. "Lucy's really good."

"Yes," Amelia said with a smile. "She's trained very hard and I think it definitely shows."

The program went on and more duets danced. Then it was time for Lucy to dance again in the solo category. Her dance this time was much faster and upbeat but still graceful and beautiful. When she was done, the lights dimmed again and she walked off the stage. More people danced and then finally it was over and time for awards. They went through the different categories, naming the runner ups and then the first place winners. The judges handed the winners trophies and shook their hands while camera lights flashed around them. Lucy and Brad won third in their duet. Finally Lucy's solo category was called.

"And first place goes to Lucy Collins!"

Minerva jumped to her feet and cheered as Lucy walked out onto the stage and accepted her trophy. Amelia, Raj and Tonks stood up and clapped as well. Lucy took a bow before retreating backstage again. The program ended and Tonks followed Minerva, Raj and Amelia over towards the stage. Lucy walked out and saw them. She ran over and hugged Minerva.

"Good job, sweetheart," Minerva said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," Lucy said excitedly. She pulled away and hugged Raj as well.

"Well done, love," Raj said. He held out a bouquet of flowers to her. "There you are, my love."

She smiled and accepted the flowers from him, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and hugged her again. She then moved over to hug Amelia.

"How does it feel to win the biggest Ballet competition in Europe?" Amelia asked with a smile.

"It think it was the hair and makeup that pushed me over the edge," Lucy said with a laugh.

"Oh no," Amelia said. "It was definitely your dancing. You were wonderful."

"Thank you, Aunty Amelia," she said.

When they pulled away Tonks walked up too. "Good job, Lucy," she said. "That was really cool. I'm glad I got to see you dance."

"Thanks, Tonks," Lucy said with a smile. "I hope it wasn't too boring. I know these things can get really long."

"No, it was awesome," Tonks said with a smile. "I had fun."

"Alright, shall we head out?" Minerva asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Lucy said, handing Minerva her trophy and flowers. "I just have to say goodbye to Brad and Crystal and Margaret first."

"Alright, hurry along," Minerva said.

Lucy nodded and ran off. Tonks watched as Lucy hug Brad and talked with two other beautiful girls. She sighed and looked away. Amelia was watching her. Tonks gave Amelia a small smile which she returned. She motioned for her to follow and led her, Raj and Minerva out to the car. Lucy arrived a little later and Raj drove them somewhere fancy to eat and celebrate.

...

Finally Sunday came around and the Quidditch Final was upon them. Minerva was very nervous this morning as she and Lucy walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. This was the closest Gryffindor had come in years to finally getting the cup.

"I won't be able to stand Severus if he wins again this year," she said quietly. "You better give those boys of yours a good pep talk. The fate of Gryffindor rests on their shoulders."

"Wow, I don't think I'll tell them that," Lucy said with a smile. "It'll be fine, Mum. They've been training hard."

Minerva didn't seem convinced, however. They made it to the Great Hall and parted ways, Minerva went up the the teachers table where Snape promptly asked her if she was ready for another loss this year and Lucy want to Gryffindor table where Tonks was trying to calm down a very nervous Bill and a flighty Charlie.

Breakfast went by in a barrage of "Shut up, Severus"s, "It's going to be okay, Bill, eat your toast"s, and "Sit down, Charlie, you're scaring the first years"s. Eventually they were making their way down to the pitch, excited for what promised to be the match of the year.

"Good luck, Charlie! Good luck, Bill!" Lucy called as the two boys followed the rest of the Gryffindor team into the change rooms. The boys waved at her and Tonks before disappearing behind the curtains. Lucy and Tonks walked up to sit down at the stands.

"I'm really happy for Bill and Charlie, I really am," Tonks said as they sat down on the Hufflepuff stand. "I just wish that Hufflepuff had made it to the finals."

Lucy laughed. "I know," she said. "Maybe next year."

It was a nice sunny day. There were only a couple clouds in the sky. A great day for quidditch. Lucy say her mother sitting on the opposite side of the pitch and waved. Minerva smiled and waved back a little.

"Mum's excited," Lucy told Tonks. "Gryffindor hasn't made it to the finals in a really long time."

"The team's been training really hard this year," Tonks said. "Bill has had them out practicing in all sorts of weather conditions getting ready for this season."

"You'd think he was a warden the way he yells at them," Lucy said with a laugh. Tonks smiled. "Mum said that Charlie would be taking over as captain when Bill leaves."

"Yeah, and I'm taking over as the Hufflepuff captain," Tonks said with a smile. "So Charlie better watch out."

"Oh no... I see a lot of quidditch disputes in my future," Lucy mumbled. "Of course Bill would leave me to deal with that all on my own."

Tonks laughed. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "I'll keep it civil as long as he does."

Lucy groaned. That was not very reassuring.

"Speaking of Bill leaving though, we have to do something special for him," Tonks continued. "Any ideas?"

"I don't know yet but I'm sure we'll think of something," Lucy said with a smile as teams began walking out onto the pitch. Bill shook hands with the Boris Reed, the Slytherin Team Captain and then the game got going.

"And they're off! Gryffindor got the upper hand quickly. Christine Lee soars passed Reed with the quaffle," Kyle Diddle of Ravenclaw's commentary echoed through the buzzing stadium.

The game began and Gryffindor scored twenty points. Slytherin's defense was really on point this game, however, blocking many more attempts. Reed managed to score two goals for his own team, tying up the score. Jared Kimmel of Slytherin then scored another goal, earning Slytherin the lead. The game went on constantly drawing and then Gryffindor would get out ahead, then another tie and Slytherin would come out on top. The teams were so evenly matched that it all came down, as it so often did, to the seekers. Lucy watched Charlie fly around the pitch slowly, looking for any sign of gold. The Slytherin's seeker, Darin Farnik, followed behind him. Soon the score was one hundred thirty to one hundred twenty to Slytherin and still no snitch in sight.

Suddenly Farnik dived and Charlie went after him. The crowd roared with excitement as the seekers streaked through the air almost side by side. Charlie caught up with Farnik but they were both falling fast. The ground was getting closer and closer and Lucy was beginning to get worried. Farnik flinched first, pulling up quickly as to not break his neck on the ground but Charlie kept going. He reached out, grabbed the snitch out of the air and pulled up in time to avoid hitting the ground with full force. His feet did, however, drag across the sand pulling him off his broom. Charlie rolled on to ground by the keeper's rings onto his back and held the snitch high above him for all to see.

"AND GRYFFINDOR'S DONE IT!" Diddle cried into the microphone. "AFTER A FIVE YEAR LONG DRY SPELL, GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

Cheers roared from the crowd as student stood up and clapped. Lucy saw Minerva jump to her feet on the other side of the pitch as well. She watched her mother shake a very sour looking Snape's hand before going back to cheering for the Gryffindor team. Lucy laughed.

Tonks grabbed her hand and pulled her down the bleacher steps. "Come on! Let's go congratulate the boys!"

Lucy ran down with Tonks still holding her hand. They ran passed bitter looking Slytherins and happy Gryffindors on there way down to the pitch. The Gryffindor team was celebrating already when Tonks and Lucy made it down. They ran over to Bill and Charlie and gave them both huge hugs. To Lucy's relief Charlie was okay from his tumble. He was still gripping the snitch tightly in his hands.

"Party in Gryffindor common room," he said with a smile. "You two are coming right?"

"Of course," Lucy said with a smile. "Right Tonks?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," she said. She smiled and added, "even if I'm not technically supposed to."

Lucy smiled. "Oh yeah, like you've never been to any Gryffindor parties," she said, giving her a little shove.

"I have house pride Lucy. I would never be caught dead at a Gryffindor party," she replied with a smile, shoving Lucy back. They laughed and watched the Gryffindor team scurry off arm in arm to the change room before running back to the castle themselves.

As the children cheered and celebrated Minerva regained her composure long enough to walk by them into the castle. It was not an easy thing to accomplish. Every time she saw Snape's scowling face, her lips twitched and she had to remind herself that gloating would be unbecoming.

"Maybe I should always have you do paperwork after a Gryffindor win," Dumbledore said. They were sitting in his office going through Hogwarts papera and Minerva had a huge smile on her face. There were no students here after all so she didn't feel the need to hide her uncharacteristic bubbliness. "You work a lot faster and happier then."

She gave him a look before the smile reappeared on her lips, not being able to stay away for too long. "I'm just so happy, Albus," she said, excitement rivaling that of a child who was just told they were having a second Christmas. "Finally! Finally someone has knocked Severus off his high horse! Did I mention how much I love Charlie Weasley?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "You may have... a couple times," he said. "I may start getting concerned if you continue."

Minerva threw on scrunched up piece of paper at him which only made him laugh more. She sighed happily and leaned back in her chair. "Did you see the way he hugged her after the match?"

"Who?"

"Charlie and Lucy, of course! Have you not been paying attention?"

Dumbledore shook his head but smiled.

"If my predictions are correct, I will be coming into some money very, very soon. Maybe even tonight. She's going to the party in the Gryffindor common room, you know."

"I do," he replied. "Do you think it's healthy that you keep betting on Lucy's life?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I think it's nothing for you to be worried about."

He smiled and put his hands up. "I would never suggest anything like that, Minerva."

She smiled and shoved some papers she needed him to sigh towards him. He picked them up and started going through them. She and Dumbledore worked for a while longer before Minerva said her goodbyes and headed for her own office.

She walked through the halls, listening to happy chattering of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws all scurrying to get to the party in the Gryffindor common room. She smiled as she overheard a Gryffindor tell his friend that he knew this year would be their year. She heard a Ravenclaw girl whisper to her friends about how handsome Bill Weasley was and had to hold back a laugh. It seemed all the houses were excited about Slytherin's dethroning. Or they were just happy about getting to go to a Gryffindor party. Her house always threw the best parties. Minerva knew that she would be having to get up in the middle of the night to tell everyone to go to bed multiple times tonight but she was still too happy to care.

She passed the common room door on her way to her office and could hear just how loud if was inside. She smiled and shook her head as she passed, not wanting to deal with it till later. They could have their fun for now.

In the Gryffindor common room, the team was hounded by adoring fans and tossed butterbeer after butterbeer. Lucy and Tonks stood in a corner with their own drinks talking and listening to the hum of the crowds around them. Someone had brought out their magic amplifier and was now playing music very loudly.

"'Oh, Charlie, let me get that for you'," Lucy said in a very dramatic girly voice, imitating Sylvia Dolson.

Tonks snorted and then gave it her own try. "Oh, Bill, your arms are so... big!"

Lucy laughed. "We're great friends."

"Eh, that's just what friends do," Tonks said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled and flung back the last few drops of her drink before looking over at Tonks's which was also empty. "Refill?"

Tonks handed her the cup and smiled. "Thanks."

"I'll be right back," Lucy said, walking towards the drinks table.

She pushed through the giggling girls who were admiring Bill's muscles and boys trying to get Christine Lee to sit with them. When she made it to the table, she put down her cups and stuffed some chips in her mouth before picking up a bottle to pour her and Tonks some drinks.

"Hey!"

Lucy spun around to see Charlie Weasley and smiled. She put up a hand up and gulped hard. "Hey, sorry chips."

He laughed and took the bottle from her to pour himself a drink.

"Great flying out there, Charlie," Lucy said with a smile. "You guys did awesome!"

"Thanks, Lucy," he said, turning back to her. "I'm glad you enjoyed the game."

"Really let that Farnik guy have it," she said with a laugh.

Charlie smiled. He took a sip of his drink and looked her over for a second. She gave him a smile and before she knew what was happening he was leaning in and kissing her. If she wasn't certain about her feelings towards Charlie before, she definitely was now. The kiss wasn't long but it was long enough for realization to hit her and her actual feelings to be reinforced. He pulled away quickly and looked at her apologetically. She saw Sylvia Dolson cry out nearby but ignored her.

"Charlie... I -"

"Did it feel kind of weird for you too?" He asked.

She sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have swung that on you," he said. He sighed and shook his head. "I just needed to know, you know... I think that I think of you more like a sister than anything else."

She smiled. "Yeah, I think that I think of you more like a sister to me too."

"Hey!" he laughed and gave her a little shove. She laughed too and picked up the two cups for her and Tonks. "Still friends right?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "But I should probably find Tonks. I told her that I would be back soon."

He smiled and nodded. "See you later, Lucy."

She smiled and walked back through the crowd looking for Tonks. She was no longer standing in the corner that they had been. Lucy looked around and finally spotted a wisp of pink hair flying out of the portrait hole. She frowned and ran after her.

"Hey, Tonks, wait up!" she called once she got out into the hallway.

Tonks did not slow down. Lucy watched her turn a corner and ran after her. She followed Tonks up to the Astronomy Tower and found her leaning against the railing, looking over at the grounds.

Lucy walked over to her and leaned on the rail beside her. She held out her cup for her. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. "Why'd you leave?"

Tonks took the cup from her and sighed. "Lucy... I... I don't know."

"Hey, you can tell me," Lucy said with a smile. "We tell each other everything right."

"Right," Tonks mumbled though she smiled a little. She took a sip of her butterbeer and then looked over at Lucy for a second. She looked away, back towards the lights coming from Hogsmeade before speaking again. "Lucy... I really like... someone. But... but I think they like someone else and I - I don't know what to do."

"Oh," Lucy said quietly. Tonks liked someone else. Lucy felt her heart sink in her chest but pushed her disappointment aside. She had to respect Tonks's choices. She was her friend after all and Lucy didn't want to be selfish. "Tonks, I think that... I think that you should just tell them that you like them. Maybe they like someone else but maybe they don't. You'll never know if you don't try. That's what Nina says."

Tonks turned around and stared at Lucy. She looked... angry? Lucy was confused. Did she say something wrong? Tonks grabbed Lucy's cup and threw it over the railing with her own.

Lucy watched them fall down from the tower. "Tonks -"

"Lucy! What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled.

Lucy's eyes widened. "I - I... I'm sorry?"

"Lucy! It's you! I like you!" Tonks yelled. "How could you not get the hint?"

"You... you like me?" Lucy asked.

"Yes! And I have for the longest time but I never told you because... because I was scared and stupid and - and -"

Lucy grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around Tonks's chest and rested her chin on her shoulder. For the first time in a really, really, long time she actually felt calm and relaxed. The confusion inside her shifted and everything felt... right. Tonks was shocked. She stood there for a second, not sure what to do, before wrapping her arms around Lucy too.

"I like you too," Lucy whispered. "I like you so much and I was scared too. I am so glad that you - that you said something."

"You - you do?" Tonks said when they pull away. "But... but what about Charlie?"

Lucy gave a look. "Charlie?"

"Yeah. I saw you guys kiss at the party," Tonks said.

"Oh! That? No, no," Lucy said with a laugh. "He kissed me but then we were both like, 'no that was weird'. We both decided we like each other like friends. Nothing more than that."

"He kissed you just to... like see?"

"Yeah," Lucy said with a nod. "It was weird."

Tonks laughed. "Oh... well... I guess one good thing came out of it."

"What's that?" Lucy asked with a smile.

Tonks smile, cupped Lucy's cheeks with her hands and pulled her close. They kissed and it felt amazing. Again Lucy felt like her feelings were reinforced but this time in the best way possible. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Tonks's neck.

When they finally pulled away, they sat down on the floor and looked out on the grounds. Tonks wrapped an arm around her. Lucy leaned her head on Tonks's shoulder and took her other hand in both of her's. Tonks rested her head on Lucy's and they sat there for a really long time. They talked quietly all through the night, surprised when they saw the sun come up in the morning as no one had come to the tower to yell at them for being out of bed. They watched the sunrise over the forest and smiled. Lucy hadn't stayed up talking all night with someone in a really long time. She'd forgotten how good it felt.

Finally they got up and Lucy walked Tonks back to the Hufflepuff common room before transforming into a fox and running back to her bedroom. She collapsed in her bed. She opened up her bedside drawer and pulled out her phone to send Anne a quick text before curling up in bed and falling asleep, feeling the most calm she had felt in months.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I hoped you enjoyed this (not so) short interlude. The Next chapter will take place during the Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone timeline. Please leave a review letting me know what you think!


	36. PS -- 1

**PS - Chapter 1**

 _Tuesday, September 1st 2009_

Taking a deep breath, Lucy Collins sat down at her desk in her new office on the top floor of the Collins Enterprises building in the heart of London. She looked around a little nervously, clasping, unclasping, and re-clasping her hands on the ends of the arms of the chair. Here she sat on the precipice of her new life. A new job, a new city, a new world of opportunities. Since she accepted this job, one that she supposed she had always been destined for, Lucy had been featured in many a magazine spreads and had received many calls from the heads of other prominent fortune five hundred companies congratulating her. I worked closely with your father. I look forward to working with you too. I can't wait to see how you run your father's company, what changes you make, what new projects you start. The conversations were the same. They said the same things as the last CEO that called her and she made the same replies.

She had also, surprisingly, gotten a few calls from government officials who told her that they had also worked closely with her father and hoped to do the same with her. Maria and Raj had told her that this meant her father had given money to their election campaigns. Lucy did not want any of that. She would prefer to stay out of politics, even if Maria and Raj insisted at the business world and the political world were so intertwined that it was basically one big world. Lucy guessed she would learn the nuances of her new world in time.

"Are you sure you're alright, my darling?" asked Minerva, giving her daughter a small smile. She was sitting on the chair in front of her desk. She had come with Lucy to her first day of work to spend a little bit of time with her before she had to go back to Hogwarts to prepare for the student's arrival tonight.

"I'm alright. It's just - I don't know. It's a little strange, you know. The last time I was here I couldn't even reach this desk. I sat over there." She pointed out at the floor in front of the desk. "Playing with dolls and pretending to be CEO while Dad sat here, being the actual CEO."

Minerva smiled, standing up and walking around the desk. She wrapped her arms around her daughter, kissing her cheek before resting her chin on the top of Lucy's head. "He would be so proud of you, my love. So, so proud."

Lucy took a deep breath, reaching up and putting a hand on Minerva's arm. "I just worry... I just don't want to mess up. Things are quite bad right now with the financial crisis last year and everything. Collins Enterprises had to lay off a lot of people and make some pretty big cuts. I - I don't know if I can get us back out of it."

"You are definitely not starting at a very ideal time for Collins Enterprises. I know that things are very overwhelming right now but I know you will find your footing and you'll be okay."

"I am glad Maria and Uncle Raj are here. I don't think I would know where to even start if it wasn't for them." She looked down at the files on the desk. "I already have so much paperwork to go through."

"They are always here to help, of course, but I know that you'll be okay. You are qualified, you've proven yourself to be a smart business woman, and I know you'll figure this all out. You will be a great CEO, darling, I know you will."

"I hope so." Lucy looked up at her mother and Minerva let her go. "I'll do my best."

Minerva gave her a smile. "That is all you have to do. Your best will be more than enough. It always is."

Lucy wasn't sure about that but she didn't say anything. She watched Minerva walk around the desk and sit back down in front of her. She was about to say something else when the office door opened and Raj walked in, a large smile on his face.

"Good morning, boss," he said cheerfully, giving Lucy a little salute. He looked at Minerva. "Good morning, Minerva."

"Raj," Minerva said. "You know you're supposed to knock before entering the CEO's office."

Raj waved his hand dismissively as he walked over to the desk and flopped down into the seat beside Minerva. "Never did when Jay was CEO, don't think I'll start now."

"Uncle Raj, do you want to swap jobs?" Lucy asked.

Raj laughed and shook his head. "Don't think it works like that, Princess. Feeling a bit nervous?"

"Nervous? Me?" Lucy said with a frown. "When have I ever been nervous in my entire life?"

"Uh huh," Raj said. He shook his head and looked over at Minerva. "Ready for a new school year then, Min?"

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile. "Harry Potter is coming back to the Wizarding World this year, you know."

"We've all been told," Raj said with a laugh.

"Multiple times," Lucy added.

"By you," he said.

"Well, forgive me for being excited that one of the most famous wizards in recent history will be coming to my school. I just can't wait to see him. Hagrid said that he looked just like James but with Lily's eyes."

"Uncle Albus told me that you flooded their house with hundreds of letters inviting him to Hogwarts," Lucy said with a smile.

"Really?" Raj said.

"Well, they weren't giving it to him so I had to take matters into my own hands," Minerva replied inconsequentially with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"What exactly did you do?" Raj asked.

"She made thousands of letters and made them come through every opening that house had!" Lucy said. "She even had them coming out of the eggs!"

"Wow," Raj said. "Well, when has your mother ever been subtle."

Minerva gave him a look.

"Why didn't you just have one appear on his bed or something?" Lucy asked. "You know, somewhere only he would look."

"Because messing with people is far more fun," Raj said with a laugh.

Minerva rolled her eyes. Looking down slightly, she very quietly mumbled, "I didn't think of that."

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "Well, I also heard that you aren't speaking to Uncle Albus right now."

"No, I am not," she replied, crossing her arms again. "Did he tell you why?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Did he tell you the address I had to write on the letter to Harry Potter?"

"Nope."

"4 Privet Drive, The Cupboard Under The Stairs."

"The cupboard under the stairs?" Raj asked, smile disappearing. "As in he lived in the cupboard under the stairs?"

"The Dursleys have three bedrooms in that house, you know," Minerva said angrily, glaring at nothing in particular. "Three. A master bedroom, a room for their son and another that could be Harry's but has been turned into a storage for the son's toys. Harry lives in the cupboard. He sleeps there."

"Really? That's horrible," Lucy said. "Why would they do that?"

"Why would any adult mistreat a child? I have no idea. Hagrid went to take him to Diagon Alley the same day he picked up the Philosopher's Stone and said that he was basically skin and bones! And you should see the other boy! It looks like they're feeding all Harry's food to him. I told Albus that they were horrible when he wanted to leave him there. I told him they weren't good people but he didn't listen to me. He kept saying that Harry would be safest there but how can that be true? If he's malnourished and stuffed under the stairs, how can he be safer?"

"I don't know," Lucy said sadly.

"I knew I should have just scooped him up off that doorstep and took him home with me," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "I regret letting Albus leave that baby on that doorstep. Outside. In England. In November!"

"You left a baby on a doorstep?" Raj asked with wide eyes. "You didn't go in and explain to them what happened?"

"We didn't."

"Wow," Lucy mumbled with a shake of her head. "Why didn't Remus take him? Or someone else on the Order. I'm sure someone would be willing. Aunt Amelia could have raised him. She would have done a good job."

"She would have, I suppose," Raj said, suddenly feeling very awkward. "But... babies... children... not really our thing."

Lucy laughed. "Not really your thing, Uncle Raj, but I think you would be fine. Eventually."

"You are wonderful with children," Minerva said with a frown, looking over at Raj. "You both are. What are you talking about?"

"Children that aren't my own, I suppose," he said with a smile. He nodded over at Lucy. "Ones I don't have to worry about messing up."

"I'm not messed up."

"That's more thanks to me than you," Minerva said.

"I think I did a pretty good job with this one," Raj said. "I mean look at her now. CEO of a huge company with four degrees from Oxford University under her belt. I did a great job."

"I think that I can take credit for most of that," Lucy said though it didn't seemed she was being listened to right now.

"Oh yes, I'm sure she really benefited from you taking her to that bar when she was eight," Minerva said, ignoring Lucy.

"You and Amelia took her to a party where she studied alcohol's effects on her friends when she was seven," Raj said, raising an eyebrow at her. "How is that much better?"

"I'm right here," Lucy said. "Is Harry still living in the cupboard?"

"No," Minerva said. "They've moved him to the bedroom thankfully." She sighed and shook her head. "At least Harry Potter is finally back in the Wizarding World where he belongs. I will however fight for Harry to come back to Rochester with me when the year is through or somewhere else at least. I don't think he should go back to that house."

Lucy smiled a little. "He could stay with me and Tonks. I'm sure Tonks wouldn't mind too much."

Raj laughed. "Yes, because you would know how to take care of an eleven year old boy. You're just as rubbish with children as I am."

"True."

Minerva shook her head but smiled. "So, anyways, how is Tonks? How's her training going?"

"She's good. Training really hard. I've been helping her. Her exams and interviews are in October and she'll find out if she got the job in November. I never knew how hard it was to become an Auror."

"Yes, it's a very intense process," Minerva said with a nod. "They haven't taken on new Aurors in years. These exams are only just to get into the training years. If she passes them, she'll be assigned a mentor and will undergo three more years of training before she can be a full fledged Auror."

"Wow, three years," Raj said.

"The training is paid though, so that's a plus."

"Not very much," Lucy muttered. "I've been covering rent which I, of course, have no problem with but even when she starts making money I might still have to do that."

"It's hard," Minerva said with a sigh. "I know but I'm sure you and Tonks will figure it all out. Does she have a backup plan in case she doesn't make it?"

"Erm... no... not really," Lucy said quietly, looking down. "I tried to bring it up once but she was stressed out at the time and it didn't go over very well. I'm sure she'll pass and if she doesn't I'm sure she'll find something to do until the next set of exams."

"Who's covering the costs of the exams?" Raj asked with a frown.

"That would be me, again," Lucy replied, looking up again. "It's not that big a deal. I mean I have enough saved still to cover these things for until I get my first pay cheque, it's not really a problem. Sometimes I do wish I had not spent so much on my trip through Europe with Anne though. It would have been nice to have a little more money saved up."

"I can always -"

"No," Lucy said immediately, cutting her mother off. "No, you don't have to worry about it. I'm supposed to be a billionaire remember. I can't be taking handouts."

"Lucy, it's okay. It's partly your money anyways," Minerva said, not understanding why Lucy had such a problem using the money Jay had left her. "If you need a little bit of help before you get paid it's okay to use it."

"I'll be fine."

Minerva nodded though she did feel a little off about this.

"It's not a problem, really Mum."

"Yes, I know."

There was a pause. Raj looked between Lucy and Minerva before deciding to change the topic away from finances. "So, how have you been helping Tonks?"

"For the written portion, I've been helping her study and quizzing her. For the dueling portion I tried to help her but she doesn't like dueling with me because it's hard to figure out an end to the duel since I don't have a wand that needs to be disarmed. She had me hold a stick and pretend it was a wand so she could know when she had won but I kept forgetting to pretend to use it since I never use a wand."

Raj laughed. "I see."

"There's also a physical portion. I've been training for it with her. Part of the physical exam is running two point five kilometres in like under eleven minutes so I've been going running with her almost every morning. So far we're getting an average of about three minutes and forty two seconds a kilometre and we want to get it under three minutes and thirty seconds."

"Wow," Minerva said. "So you're also getting in shape as well then."

"Yeah," Lucy said with a laugh. "Gotta run off all that food I ate in Europe. Plus I haven't danced in like four months so I need something to keep me in shape."

"What dance competition will you be doing next?" Raj asked.

"Yes, I'll need to know what day of mine to leave open," Minerva said.

"I don't think I'll be entering any competitions any time soon," Lucy said sadly. "I'm still going through all the paperwork to actually legally be CEO and now I have more on top of that." She motioned towards the files on her desk. "Plus helping Tonks train, cooking dinner, and helping Anne plan the wedding doesn't really leave a lot of time for getting out to the studio. At the moment my ballet slippers are sitting on the floor in the corner of my bedroom under a pile of laundry."

Minerva sighed. "You're taking on too much, Lucy. You have a lot on your plate and you're cooking dinner every night as well?"

"Well, not every night. I order food when I'm too tired to cook or just can't be bothered. Also Nina sends food sometimes which is nice," Lucy replied.

"If you need food, Amelia or I could bring some over," Raj said. "You shouldn't have to cook every night."

"That's alright," Lucy said with a small smile. "I can handle it. It's just that Tonks is out training at the Auror Centre downtown all day and by the time she gets home she's exhausted and if I left it to her we would never have dinner."

"I hope that changes when the Auror exams are over," Minerva said with a frown.

"I'm sure it will," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm sure it will get better soon. Once everything settles down a bit and I don't have mountains of files to go through on my own time everyday, things will get better. I mean, Dad didn't spend all his nights sitting away in the office going through files right?"

"No, he left his work at work," Minera said with a smile. "He made sure he was free to play with you and Daniel when he got home, no matter how exhausted he was."

"Then I will do that too," she said. "Well, except not the playing with kids thing. Just the whole leaving work at work thing."

Raj laughed. "Hopefully the work slows down soon," he said. "Jay did have some weeks where he worked late almost everyday but they passed and everything got back to normal eventually. It's the most busy at the very start, you know."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "So, anyways, how's Aunt Amelia doing with the election?"

"She hates it. Hates having to worry about if she'll have a job or not next year," Raj said with a small smile. "She is quite confident that she will still have the position if Fudge is reelected but the polls show that Lister isn't that far behind and she's less confident with him."

"It does seem like a close race. I'm sure Lister will still keep her on if he wins though," Minerva said. "She is good at her job and I couldn't imagine who he could appoint that would have as high approval ratings as her."

"She has a dinner meeting with him tonight," Raj said. "I suppose we'll see where he stands then."

"It would be stupid for him to appoint a new Head of the Law Department. Aunt Amelia's been there for years and everyone loves her," Lucy said. "The Bones family is still very largely respected in the Wizarding World."

"They are," Minerva said with a nod. "I doubt Amelia will ever be asked to resign from that position. I do think she may step down if another position arises."

"Oh?" Lucy said. "And what position would that be?"

"Minister for Magic," Raj said.

"She's going to run?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe someday," Raj said. "I told her to run this time but she wasn't sure she was ready."

"I think Aunt Amelia would make a great Minister of Magic," Lucy said with a smile. "Much better than Fudge or Lister." She made a face and opened her drawer. She pulled out two pieces of parchment to show her mother and uncle. "I've gotten loads of letters asking for donations. Fudge loves to mention how he's known me since I was thirteen and how much his wife absolutely loves me. Oh and how proud of me they are."

Minerva smiled a little. "Wow, no holds bar on the flattery I see."

"Nope. Have you donated?"

"I have. Mostly for Amelia's sake than Fudge's."

"We've all given him so much of our money," Raj said with a shake of his head. "I hope he wins or else all these favours we've been saving up will be for nothing."

"I suppose I'll give him some more," Lucy mumbled, folding up the letters and setting them on the desk. "For Aunt Amelia."

"Thank you, love," Raj said with a smile.

"Also, I'm not a big fan of Lister," she said. "I'm not a big fan of Fudge but I like him better than Lister."

"I agree," Minerva said. "Lister has still avoided taking a real stance on a lot of important issues. Say what you will about Fudge but at least we know where he stands."

"Do you think he'll win?" Lucy asked.

"Fudge? Probably," Minerva said. "He's still riding quite high from his job creation initiative from last year."

"That was a good plan, I will admit," Raj said.

"It was. Maybe he's not that much of an idiot," Lucy said.

"Honestly it was all Zelda. She's the one with the real brains, I think," Minerva said. "Zelda Fudge should just run on her own."

"She's good at pretending she's just a complicit housewife," Lucy said. "She likes me though. I bet if I wanted something done she would get it done for me."

"Well, if you plan on breaking the law, you have a lot of friends pretty high up," Raj said with a laugh.

"Don't encourage something like that," Minerva said, smacking his arm.

Lucy smiled. "Well, I wasn't planning on it..."

Minerva rolled her eyes.

"Well," Lucy said, looking down at her watch. "I have my first ever meeting in like fifteen minutes. You'll be there, right Uncle Raj?"

"Yes, I'll be there," he said with a smile. "I'll sit in the back and give you small encouraging thumbs up."

Lucy smiled a little before the smile disappeared and she got nervous again. "How do you... like... do the meeting thing?"

"Isn't this mostly just an introduction?" Minerva asked with a laugh.

Lucy nodded.

"Just introduce yourself and get to the point," she said. "No one likes meetings that drag on far longer than they need to. You've never had a problem talking to people. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"What if everyone hates me?" Lucy asked, sounding very worried. "What if they think I'm stupid? What if they don't want to take orders from an eighteen year old? How do I deal with that? They're all, like, old and know what they're doing!"

"You'll be fine, darling. Don't worry. I don't think they'll all hate you. There may be a few people who don't want to listen to you because you're so young and they think they know better but you'll prove them wrong. I know you will," she said.

"You know what you're doing, Lucy," Raj said with a smile. "Just take a deep breath, be genuine and people will respond to that."

"They're, like, all men," Lucy said with a frown. "I was looking through the numbers and when Dad was CEO it was almost half and half but recently the Board of Directors have been hiring mostly men. The first thing I'm going to do is hire more women to get us back to where we were when Dad ran the company."

Minerva smiled. "That's a good idea."

"I didn't know the numbers were that bad," Raj said. "I'm glad you looked into it."

"Then I'm going to talk to the engineers about the ideas I've come up with. I know that CEOs don't usually pitch their own ideas but I think I have a good idea for a new engine design that I want to try out."

"That's also a good idea," Raj said with a smile. "I don't think there is anything wrong with you pitching your own ideas."

"See you already have a plan," Minerva said. She looked at her watch. "Well, I should let you two get ready for your meeting and get going. I have some last minute paperwork to get done that a certain someone was too busy fussing over a stupid stone to worry about."

"I wonder who that certain someone is," Lucy said with a laugh, standing up and fixing her blazer. "How do I look? Ready to take on an adult meeting and do adult things?"

Minerva smiled. "You look wonderful, love," she said, getting up too. "Very professional."

"Thank you," she said, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles on her pencil skirt. "It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out what to wear this morning."

Minerva walked around the desk again and pulled Lucy close to her. She put her hands on her cheeks and kisses the top of her head. "You will be great, my love. Don't worry too much. Just take a deep breath and show those people that you deserve to be here. They will listen. I promise they will."

"Thank you," Lucy said. "I'll see you soon, Mum."

Minerva smiled and let Lucy go. "Goodbye, darling. Good luck in your meeting." She looked over at Raj. "I'll see you later, Raj. Take good care of her."

"I will," he said with a smile, getting up too. "Have a nice first day, Min."

Minerva walked out of the office, leaving Lucy and Raj alone.

Raj smiled at her and looked down at the files on her desk. "You've got this, love," he said as he collected the files she needed into a pile. He picked them up and held them out for her. "You are going to be a great CEO and if you ever need anything, I'll be here to help."

"Thank you, Uncle Raj," she said with a little smile, taking the files from him.

"Shall we head out then?"

Lucy nodded a little cautiously. She fixed her blazer one last time before following Raj out of her office. Maria looked up from her desk and gave them a smile. She stood up and walked over with a file in hand.

"You'll need this one too," she said, holding it out for Lucy. "You'll do great, Lucy. I wish your father was here to see the amazing young woman you've become."

Lucy gave her a little smile as she took the file from her. "Thank you, Maria. I'm really glad you and Uncle Raj are here. I don't know what I would do without you."

Maria smiled. "Go kick some ass, kid."

Lucy smiled and nodded. They walked to the conference room where all the heads of every department in Collins Enterprises were gathered. She watched them chatting amongst themselves as they waited for her through the glass walls of the conference room. They were all a lot older than she was, a lot more experienced at their jobs, not very likely to want to listen to a silly little eighteen year old girl playing CEO. She looked back at Raj who gave her a smile and gave her shoulder a little squeeze.

"You'll be great," he said, reaching out and holding the door open for her.

Lucy took a deep breath to calm herself before taking a step into the conference room. Raj followed behind her but stayed back as she kept going forward.

"Hello, everyone," she said as she walked into the room in the most professional and confident voice she could muster. All eyes in the room turned to watch her as she walked up towards the head of the table. "My name is Lucy Collins. I am the new CEO of Collins Enterprises and I look forward to working with you all."

...

"Darling, where is my travel cloak?" Tonks asked, quickly coming out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where Lucy was sitting with the her laptop open and papers spread out all around her. She looked very stressed out and tired. She looked up at Tonks and rubbed her forehead as she thought for a second.

"Um, I think I saw it hanging on the closet door," she replied, looking back down and picking up the next envelope. "Are you going somewhere? I thought you were going to help me with going through and paying all these bills."

"Oh my god! Was that supposed to be today?" Tonks called as she walked back into the bedroom to look for her cloak.

"Ah, yeah," Lucy said with a frown. "They're due in two days. We're cutting it a bit close. I was hoping that with your help we could get it all done quickly and then I could focus on this Collins Enterprises stuff. If I don't get it done soon that Gregory Dirkus guy that I told you about will be all over my case again."

"Gregory Dirkus?" Tonks asked, coming back into the room and walking back towards the table as she put on her cloak. She grabbed her bag that was sitting on one of the chairs. "I don't remember you telling me about him. What's his deal?"

"I'm pretty sure I told you about him. The head of the Marketing Department. The one who keeps making snarky comments at me because he thinks that he knows so much more than I do since he's a lot older than me and has more experience in business."

"Oh yeah. Is he being a dick again?" Tonks asked as she walked towards the fridge and looked inside. She found nothing and closed it again. Deciding to grab an apple from the fruit basket instead.

"No, I was saying he would be if I don't get through his proposals soon," Lucy replied with a frown. Was Tonks even remotely listening to her?

"Oh, well, I'm really sorry, love, but today is the day some of the retired Auror Officers are coming in to talk to us about the exam and give us tips. I can't miss it. They aren't coming back any other day so I have to go today. Can I help you go through the bills tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I have my meeting with the Board of Directors remember?"

"Oh, well, the day after then?"

"That's when it's all due."

"Well, I'm sure we'll figure out something," Tonks said, walking over to the desk. She could see that Lucy was not very happy with her and sighed. She put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, love. I wish I could stay and help but I have to go today. You know if I could I would cancel."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lucy said softly. "I just wish you had told me earlier."

"I should have, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Lucy said, giving her a little smile so Tonks would believe her. Tonks smiled and leaned down to kiss her before saying goodbye and heading out the door. Lucy sighed and looked down at the brown envelopes and white papers that were scattered around the table. There wasn't much she could do about Tonks now. She knew that she was very busy with the date of her exam fast approaching and all. Lucy picked up the next envelope, opened it up, and got to work.

...

"Yes, I'll look into it," Lucy said into the phone, pulling clothes out of the dryer and throwing them into a basket. "Pink and white roses right?"

"Yes," Anne's voice came through the other side. "Thank you so much Lucy. You're doing so much for me and I really appreciate it!"

"It's not a problem, Anne," Lucy said with a smile as she picked up the laundry basket from the ground and walked into her bedroom. She put it down on the ground and the clothes inside began folding or hanging themselves and flying to their proper places around the room. "How about the Honeymoon? Have you guys decided where you want to go and how long you'll be going for?"

"We haven't decided where yet. Maybe Spain or Italy but I think we'll be taking a week off. If that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll let Maria know so she can make sure you have those days off," she replied. "And I was looking at the venue that you guys picked online. Are you sure you want this one? It doesn't have very good reviews. You should look it up and make sure you're okay with it before you book it. I made a list of other options if you'd prefer something else. I emailed it to you so you and Mitch could look at it."

"Wow, Lucy, thank you. You're honestly amazing."

"I know," Lucy said with a smile, leaving the bedroom as the laundry continued to do itself, going into the kitchen and walking over to the stove where dinner was cooking. "So, how are you liking your new position?"

"I'm loving it as you know," Anne said with a laugh. "It's everything I've ever wanted from a job. Getting to work close to you so we can go for lunch everyday, a good pay, and work that I can totally get behind! We're looking at more organizations working on job creation to try and get us out of this recession we're in."

"That's good," Lucy said with a laugh as she checked inside the pot on the stove. She picked up a wooden spoon and stirred the contents before putting the top back on and walking to the kitchen table where her papers were. "I'm glad you're liking it at the Jay Collins Charitable Foundation. And honestly my lunches with you are probably my favourite part of the day. Also, the least stressful."

"How are you doing? Is the workload decreasing at all? I know you've been working so hard lately and yet you still find time to help me plan this wedding. It's amazing and again, thank you so much!"

Lucy smiled as she sat down and started gathering the papers up. "It's okay. I love helping you plan. I don't think I've been this excited about a wedding since Daniel and Nina got married. The workload is definitely not getting anywhere close to decreasing. It's probably increasing actually. I had not realized how much stuff the Board had put off doing just to spite me!"

"It wasn't to spite you, Lucy. I don't think they think that far ahead," Anne said with a laugh. "It's just they can't do anything they're not authorized to do so a lot of things get pushed to the side for you to do when you can."

"When I can," Lucy mumbled with a shake of her head. "I was supposed to go see Mum this weekend but I can't because of all this work!"

"That really sucks," she said. "What about Tonks? Is she helping more yet?"

"Not really. Her exam is coming up so I've been cutting her a little slack."

"A lot of slack," Anne mumbled. "Lucy, you know I love Tonks but I can't help but feel like she's taking a little bit of advantage of you. You have so much work to do for Collins Enterprises and then you're also paying for everything, and you're doing all the chores. Her exam isn't till the end of October. I think she could find some time to help you out a bit more."

"It's a really hard exam, Anne," Lucy said with a sigh. "She can't waste time. She needs to study and prepare as best she can. She wants to get the position on her first try so she's working really hard. I'm sure once the exam is over she'll help out more and once she gets the job she'll help pay more."

"Well, if I'm putting too much on you, just let me know," Anne said with a sigh. "I don't want you to stress out about my wedding too much when you have so much other stuff to worry about as well."

"Don't worry," Lucy said with a smile. "I can handle it."

...

 _Friday, September 4th 2009_

A chill ran down her spine and Lucy pulled her coat tighter around herself. It was dark now, the sun had set hours ago and the streetlamps on this street were very sparsely spread out. Wind blew through her coat sleeves, leaving goosebumps on her skin. She had lost track of time while working late at Collins Enterprises and had thought that a nice cool walk home would help her distress a little.

Lucy's walk home was usually during the end of the day rush so she never felt unsafe but now in the dark everything looked a lot more frightening. The cold, the large shadows, the dark allies. They gave her chills. She knew, of course, that in the day time these neighbourhoods were quite affluent. In the dark, however, it didn't matter.

Of course, it wasn't really a problem. Lucy was sure she could defend herself against any mugger, murderer, or Death Eater that may be hiding behind every corner waiting for her. She was sure she could take on five men, no ten men, with her bare hands!

Or she could use her magic.

That was probably the best option. Either way, she was quite confident in her ability to take on anything that may jump out at her. Though, she did hope she would never have to put her skills to the –

Lucy heard a noise and stopped in her tracks. Was that a scream? She looked towards a dark alleyway coming up in front of her. She slowly walked forward and listened closely. There were voices coming from the alleyway. A man and a woman. The woman sounded scared and the man sounded angry.

"Shut up! Give me your wallet, lady! Any jewellery, valuables, that's mine now!"

Lucy's eyes widened. She had just stumbled upon a mugging! Her heart was racing. What should she do? She was just thinking about this and now she had to intervene, didn't she? The woman began sobbing as she dug through her purse and pulled out the things he asked for. The cries were heart breaking and Lucy knew she had to move fast.

Lucy tossed her bag down behind some rubbish bins and pulled her hood over her head so it would hide her face before ducking into the alley. She slunk closer to the mugger and his victim as quietly as she could. As she approached, she noticed that the woman was wearing pearls and nice earrings. Her hair was up in a bun and she wore a smart coat. Perfect well dressed, upper middle class target for a mugger. She cowered in fear at every movement the man made.

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

The man and woman turned their heads to love over at her and Lucy saw the way the man held something in his pocket. Her eyes widened. He had a gun!

The mugger pulled the gun out of his pocket and pointed at Lucy. "Don't come any closer or I'll shoot! Just run along this doesn't concern you!"

Lucy didn't move. Suddenly her muscles tensed and her brain was screaming at her to just run. Just go! Get out! Get out! Abort!

She didn't listen. She stared down the barrel of the gun and felt her heart race. She had never been in front of a gun before, she had never even seen one in real life before. They were supposed to be quite difficult to get here. Standing in front of the barrel of a gun was a feeling that one can't possibly fathom. You can't prepare yourself for a sensation like that.

"I - I'm giving you one warning," Lucy said, voice shaking slightly as she raised her arms in front of her. Come on! Be scary! He's never going to listen to you like that! She tried to control her voice and continue a little more confidently. "Leave now and I won't hurt you!"

The mugger laughed and looked her up and down. "You're going to hurt me? You? You're the tiniest little girl I've ever seen." He looked back at the woman and jerked his gun, still pointed at Lucy at, a little bit. "Give me your purse or I'll shoot her."

"Don't listen to him," Lucy told the woman quickly as she took a couple steps forward towards the man.

"I said don't move!"

The woman looked between the man and Lucy with wide eyes before holding out her purse towards the man. She didn't want to be the reason this young woman, who was just trying to help her, got shot. The man smiled maliciously and snatched the purse from her outstretched hands. Lucy started walking forward again. The man looked back at her but she didn't stop. He pulled the trigger and the loud boom echoed through the alleyway. _Arresto Momentum! Arresto Momentum!_ Lucy closed her eyes, hand still out in front of her, ready for the bullet to hit her but it never came.

"What the hell?!" the man exclaimed making Lucy open her eyes again. The small metal bullet was frozen in mid-air right in front of her.

Lucy smiled, it had worked! The spell had stopped a bullet going about seventeen hundred miles per hour in just the few metres between her and the gun. That was amazing, the spell usually took a lot more time at a speed like that. The man and woman stared at the frozen bullet with wide eyes for a second before the man regained composure and shot the gun three more times. Each time he did, Lucy stopped them from hitting her just in time. The gunshot sounds made her ears ring and echoed through the streets of London. Lucy was sure someone would hear them and call the police.

Lucy let the bullets go and they fell straight to the ground. The gun flew out of the mugger, now attempted murderer's, hand, landing on the ground and sliding away. The man was knocked backwards and he hit the wall on the other side of the alley with a thud. Lucy waved her hand and metal from the fire escape ladder on that building came to life. It move like a snake around the man's wrists creating shackles to keep him there until the police showed up. Lucy ran over to him when she was sure he was incapacitated enough. He looked up at her in complete horror as she approached but she just grabbed the purse from his hand and walked back to the woman. She stared at Lucy in shock and took a few seconds to regain control of her body so she could take the purse back.

"Do you have a phone? You should call the police," Lucy said, fixing her hood to make sure the woman wouldn't see her face. "They can handle this guy."

The woman nodded furiously, clutching her purse tightly as she dug through it in search of her phone. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did! Thank you so much! I - I wish I could repay you in some way!"

"It's no problem. Don't worry about it." Lucy was very happy with herself. She may have just saved this woman's life. The rush had still not worn off and she could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. She had never felt so... useful before. She had done a lot of different work in her life but she had never felt this useful. "Just call the police. They'll arrest this guy and drive you home."

Lucy started walking away, back towards the entrance of the alley where she had come from, when the woman called, "Wait! You never told me who you are?"

"It doesn't matter," Lucy said with a smile as she continued to walk away. Damn, that was probably the coolest thing you've ever done.

Lucy walked confidently out of the alley as the woman called the police. When she reached the end of the alley, she reached down and scooped up her bag before turning the corner. She started running, stumbling a little as she did so. Thankfully she was out of view at this point, though. As she ran away she heard the police sirens approaching the alley. She ran the rest of the way home and didn't slow down until she got to the door of her flat. She stood in front of the door for a little while, catching her breath and thinking over what just happened, what she had just done. She began to get worried. What if the Ministry wasn't completely on board with what she did? What if they were waiting for her behind this door?

Lucy took a deep breath, pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. She went inside and saw nothing, just a dark entrance. Lucy smiled a little to herself. They didn't know. The Ministry had no idea. Lucy swiftly took off her coat and shoes and started towards the bedroom.

"Where have you been?" Tonks said suddenly, making her jump.

Lucy looked over to see her girlfriend standing in the kitchen with a cup of tea in hand. "Oh, hey babe. I'm just getting in from work."

"I've been trying to call you for so long, Lucy! I was so worried!" she replied, walking around the kitchen counter and towards her. "I thought you might have died! I was so scared!"

"I'm sorry." Lucy debated on whether or not she should tell Tonks about what she had just done. She decided against it. She didn't know how Tonks would react to her risking her life, almost getting shot and breaking international law by doing magic in front of Muggles. "My phone's in my bag. I didn't hear it. I told you I was working late today."

"Yes, but I didn't realize you meant this late." Tonks sighed. She walked over and pulled Lucy into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay, love."

Lucy smiled and hugged her back. "Me too. I think I'm finally getting through most of my work and hopefully won't have to work so late anytime soon."

"I'm glad. You've been working so hard, Lucy. I'm sorry I can't be of more help around here."

"It's okay. I know you're really busy too. I hope that my work will slow down soon and your exams go well and then we can actually see each other more."

"Yes. Right after my exam, I'm going to take you out to dinner to try and repay you for everything you're doing for me, love."

Lucy smiled. "I can't wait."

Tonks put her arm around her and let her towards the bedroom. Lucy's heart was still pounding in her chest. She felt exhilarated and was having a little trouble calming herself down. She was still pretty shaken up from having a gun pointed at her but she felt a lot safer in her girlfriend's arms.

They made it to the bedroom and Lucy pulled away so that she could put away her bag and get changed into her night clothes. Tonks got into bed and set her teacup down on the bedside table. She watched Lucy get ready for bed. Lucy's hands shook a little as she pulled she struggled with the buttons on her blouse.

"Are you alright, love?"

"Hmm? Yes, fine. Just cold. It's cold tonight."

"It is, yes. You should have Apparated. It's so late, why did you walk?"

Lucy shrugged, turning away and looking at herself in the wardrobe mirror. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Needed the air. I've been stuck in that stuffy office all day."

"Have you eaten? You missed dinner."

"Yes, I'm fine. Maria ordered me some food before she left for the day."

"That's good. Remind me to thank Maria for taking care of you. Honestly, Lucy, I wish you would take care of yourself a little bit more."

Lucy smiled a little. "I do take care of myself." She quickly changed into her night clothes and climbed into bed. She leaned over and kissed Tonks's cheek before yawning and pulling the blankets around her. "Please cuddle with me."

Tonks laughed and wrapped her arms around her, snuggling close. "As you wish."

Lucy kissed her cheek again. "I am so tired."

"Get some sleep. Don't worry about breakfast tomorrow. I'll cook."

"Thank you, darling. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you for reading! I am now starting to the first Harry Potter book. I hope that you enjoy the reading about Lucy and Tonks's journey through the Wizarding World. Please leave a review letting me know what you think!


	37. PS -- 2

**PS - Chapter 2**

Lucy 'worked' late every night the following week. She bought a new coat that had a better hood for concealing her identity and started wearing a black bandana around the bottom half of her face. She roamed the streets of London looking for people to help. She had stopped three muggings and an ATM robbery. The news started reporting on the mysterious hero running around the streets of London. She was caught on a few phone cameras and some CCTV cameras. The videos were shared all over YouTube and analyzed on the news. They had dubbed her The Enchantress. Not really the name she would have chosen but still pretty cool. Lucy still worried about Ministry officers showing up to take her away for doing so much magic in front of muggles but they never came. Her magic was different than most wizards, she had know that for a long time, but she had thought that it still worked under the spells they used to detect this kind of thing.

Tonks was still none the wiser. Lucy still hadn't told her. She knew that she probably would have to at some point but right now the working late excuse was working and she didn't want to risk Tonks getting angry at her. She wouldn't like Lucy breaking the law, even if it was to help people. Tonks was a very by the books type of person when it came to things like this and she would not like it if she found out that Lucy wasn't following the rules. Lucy also knew that getting caught might affect Tonks's chances of becoming an Auror and she didn't want to do that. Tonks would want her to stop but Lucy didn't think that she could do that. She felt like she was doing better work. She was saving the world, making it a better place. That's what she wanted when she took over Collins Enterprises and, to be fair, she was. Collins Enterprises did a lot of good work to help save the environment, her father had been very passionate about that, and her charity was doing great work on other societal issues but it was a slow process. There wasn't real, visible change that she could see right away. Her Enchantress work was different. She could see the results of her actions right away. She could see the relief in the victim's eyes when she saved them. She saw the difference she was making in those people's worlds. She caught bad guys and she saved innocents people. How could anyone be against that?

She was like Wonder Woman or Peggy Carter! She was just a person, using the resources and powers she had to help people in need. She was sure that Peggy Carter would be so proud of her. The idea made her very happy and was part of the reason she kept doing what she was doing. She thought about all the women that she looked up to when she was younger. Wonder Woman, Peggy Carter, Dorcas Meadowes. They all put their lives on the line to help everyone else and Lucy wanted to the same. She wanted to be like them. She wanted to be like Dorcas. Dorcas would have thought what she was doing was great. She would have been proud too. Lucy was sure that had Dorcas survived the war she would have not only supported Lucy in this venture, she would join her! Lucy just wanted to be like Dorcas, Peggy and Wonder Woman.

No one seemed to be catching on yet. Tonks didn't know, Anne didn't know, and the Ministry didn't know. Lucy was quite happy, and admittedly a little smug, about this fact so one can only imagine her surprise when one day Nina came up from Rochester for a visit and asked, "Are you Enchantress?"

"What?" Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to play it cool. How could she have figured it out this fast?

"Lucy, you moved to London two weeks ago and suddenly a mysterious witch who bares an awful lot of resemblance to you and is doing magic also shows up around the same time. You expect me to believe that's just a coincidence?"

"Yes. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Alright, you want more proof?" Nina asked, reaching under the table and picking up her bag. She opened it, pulled out five newspaper clippings, and shoved them towards Lucy. "September fourth was the first mugging this Enchantress stopped, also the first night you worked late according to Tonks. September seventh, another night you worked late, and another mugging stopped by Enchantress. September ninth, ATM robbery stopped by Enchantress, you don't get home until two in the morning at least. Tonks was already asleep so I don't have the exact timing for that one. September -"

"Okay, I get it. Wow, are you a serial killer? Like what is this? Cutting out newspaper articles, making notes of my comings and goings. You're not going to start pasting them on the wall and connecting them with red string anytime soon are you?"

"Lucy, just tell me. Are you Enchantress?"

"I did tell -"

"No, the truth."

Lucy sighed. "Fine, yes. I'm Enchantress. I thought I would have at least a little bit more time before someone would figure it out though. You haven't told Mum yet have you?"

"I may have sent her the first article. What are you doing, love?"

"I just found a woman getting mugged on my way home from work one night and stopped it. It kind of just went from there. I like helping people. I mean, when you have powers like I do and you see something like that happening, you have to help don't you? You have to do something. You can't just let things like that happen."

"I knew that you were going to somehow find a way to bring magic into your job. I'm really proud of you, love, and I really like what you're doing but be careful, okay? Don't do anything stupid and get yourself hurt."

"I'm careful. I'm always careful," she said with a smile, glad Nina was on her side on this one. "Just don't tell anyone about this. Tonks doesn't know yet and if she found out she would freak out. I also would prefer the Ministry not find out as well."

"Of course. Your secret's safe with me... now, I guess. But I'm sure Min won't tell anyone either."

"Oh no..." Lucy mumbled, putting her hands on her head. She was not looking forward to having that conversation with her mother.

* * *

 _Saturday, September 19th 2009_

Lucy walked through the hallways of Hogwarts towards Gryffindor tower to meet her mother. Students were walking around, laughing with their friends and running around. She saw a flash of red hair go by and called, "Hey Ron!"

Ron Weasley turned around and smiled. Lucy hadn't seen any of the younger Weasleys in a very long time. Charlie Weasley had met her and Anne in Austria on his way to the Romanian Dragon Reservation and she saw Bill Weasley when he came up from Egypt for a visit last year but she hadn't seen anyone else since she'd gotten back from her road trip last month. She had just been very busy and with Bill and Charlie gone didn't have the same motivation to go down to the Burrow. Not that she didn't love all the Weasleys, she did. It was just different with those two gone.

Ron waved and ran over to her excitedly. A boy with black hair and green eyes follows after him.

"Hey, Lucy! Guess what! I got into Gryffindor!"

"That's great, Ron. I told you that you would, there was no reason to be nervous. How's everyone else? Fred and George get into any trouble yet?"

"They haven't really done anything yet. I think they might be planning something big."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'd watch out then." Lucy looked over at the little boy standing beside Ron and smiled. "Hi, I'm Lucy."

"Oh, sorry," Ron said, remembering his friend's presence. "Lucy, this is Harry Potter. Harry this is Lucy Collins, McGonagall's daughter."

"McGonagall's daughter?" Harry asked a little shocked. "Wait aren't you the billionaire that took over her dad's company a little while ago?"

"Yep," Lucy said with a smile, sticking out her hand to shake his. He does. "Harry Potter, huh? We've actually met before."

"We have?"

"You have?" Ron asked.

"Yes! I met you when you were born. You were born at Hogwarts, you know. Same as Ron and his sister, Ginny."

"Really?" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "So you knew my parents then?"

"I did. I met them during the war. Your dad was stationed at my house to guard it since Mum had a pretty big target on her back and then after we moved to Hogwarts I would see them around a lot more. You were a very... loud baby. And you pulled my hair!"

"Oh sorry," Harry said while Ron laughed. Harry gave him a look before turning back to Lucy and, with a hopeful look on his face asked, "What were my parents like?"

"Oh they were great. Your dad was really funny and your mom was really nice. Apparently when I was really little Mum would bring me to Hogwarts over Christmas break and your dad and his friends would play with me."

"Really?"

"Yes. They told me and my friends stories of all the crazy things they used to do at Hogwarts to drive my mum crazy. She taught them you know. They also played games with us. They were really great people."

Harry smiled but she could see the sadness in his eyes. She understood that feeling. She had talked to everyone she could about her father and loved hearing about him but it made her sad whenever she did. Harry was probably feeling the same way.

He ended up changing the subject. Looking over at Ron, he asked, "How do you two know each other then?"

"During the war my family came to Hogwarts for safety and Lucy came too," Ron replied. "She and my brothers, Charlie and Bill, became friends. After that she would come over all the time to hang out with them and would play with us too. She and Charlie were the same age."

"How is Charlie doing anyways? Is he liking Romania?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, he's having a lot of fun. He says he misses England sometimes though but I think the only part of England he misses is you and Tonks."

Lucy laughed. "Well, I'm sure that in a little while he won't even remember our names."

"I doubt it. Have you talked to him recently?"

"Yes, I was writing to him this morning actually. He seems like he's really enjoying it in Romania. I think Bill is going out there next month to visit him."

"Lucy, Charlie, Bill and their friend Nymphadora Tonks have these notebooks that they can use to talk to each other," Ron told Harry. "If one of them write in their notebook then the other three can read it in their own."

"Wow, that's cool," Harry said.

Lucy smiled. "Ah, it's nothing special."

"So, Lucy, you were gone all summer?" Ron asked.

"Yes, my friend, Anne, and I went on a roadtrip through Europe."

"Wow, that's awesome," Harry said. "For how long?"

"About four months. I've been back for about a month now. I'm sorry that I didn't have time to see you guys before you started school. I've just been pretty busy since I became CEO, you know. It's a lot of work."

"No kidding," Harry said with a laugh.

"That's okay," Ron said with a smile. Suddenly he got really excited. "Oh Lucy! Harry also made the Gryffindor quidditch team! He's the youngest seeker like ever!

"Really? That's cool! I thought that first years weren't allowed to try out. A rule I remember Charlie complaining about a lot, very loudly, all through his first year."

"They're not," Ron said with a laugh. "Charlie would be really cranky if he found out but McGonagall caught him flying and put him on the team!"

"My mum rewarded you for breaking the rule!"

"Yeah," Harry said, smiling sheepishly. "A boy named Draco Malfoy stole another kid's remembrall and started flying up when Madame Hooch told us not to. I went after him and he threw the ball across the grounds. I went to go get it and flew by Professor McGonagall's window. She came out and I was... pretty scared, actually."

"It's okay. She's scary, I know."

"Yeah, I thought she was going to cane me," Harry said with a laugh, "but she introduced me to Oliver Wood, the captain of the team, and made me Seeker."

"Wow," Lucy said with a smile.

"She said my dad would have been proud. Apparently he was a great seeker as well!"

"Well, I shall come back to see your first game them," Lucy said with a smile. She looked down at her watch. "Oh man, I better get going. Mum's waiting for me and I'm really late."

Ron laughed. "Good luck."

"She threatened to turn us into a pocket watch and a map when we were late to class," Harry said with a laugh.

"Of course she did." Lucy shook her head. "I'm always late for these meetings... she's going to be mad. I'll see you guys around."

They said their goodbyes and Lucy ran up the stairs towards her mother's office. She burst through the door to find Minerva sitting at her desk doing some marking. Minerva didn't look up from her work when she entered. "You are late."

"I'm sorry, Mum."

"Sit."

Oh no, Lucy thought. She walked in, closing the door behind her, and sat down in front of the desk. She waited for her mother to speak.

Minerva opened her desk drawer and pulled out a newspaper clipping. She held the article out towards Lucy, who took it and read the title. Mysterious woman, dubbed The Enchantress, uses magic to save woman from mugger. Lucy still didn't say anything.

"Nina sent me this last week. Thought I should know. Since then, I've read many articles along the same lines in Muggle newspapers and even one story in the Daily Prophet!"

"Oh, wow," Lucy said, setting the newspaper down and smiling a little bit. "I heard about this. Apparently there is a superhero running around London."

"Yes," Minerva said, looking down her nose at Lucy. "Odd that the same week you move to London a mysterious witch shows up as well."

"What a coincidence."

Minerva shook her head and leaned back in her chair, taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. Why couldn't Lucy just keep her head down and do her job? Why must she always find some way to put herself in danger?

"What are you doing, Lucy?"

"Nothing!"

Minerva opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, if someone finds out who this Enchantress is, the Ministry will most likely want to throw her in Azkaban to make a point to others about doing magic in front of muggles. And anyone connected to this woman who may want to join the Ministry, say as an Auror, may have an even tougher time being hired."

Lucy pushed the newspaper clipping back to Minerva. She picked it up and shoved it back into her desk drawer. Lucy sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hands.

"Well, we better hope that she doesn't get caught then. Besides, the Azkaban thing probably wouldn't happen though as she is using her magic in self-defense."

"Is it still self-defense when you are going out seeking danger?"

"She's not going out seeking danger. She's just out and danger finds her."

"She should stop going out."

"She is just trying to help people."

"Well, her mother is probably worried what might happen to her if she for some reason does not see the bullet coming next time."

"She will be fine."

"Does her girlfriend know?"

"Her girlfriend probably does not know. Her girlfriend might be trying to join the Ministry, say as an Auror, so she may be worried that her girlfriend would not be okay with her breaking the law."

"And what about her mother and sister-in-law?"

"I think they both know and so far only the sister-in-law has been very supportive."

Minerva sighed and leaned back in her chair again. "So, you're a superhero now?"

Lucy smiled and uncrossed her arms. She went into the story of how she was walking home from work late one night and heard a woman yelling in an alleyway. She put her hood up and ran in. Saved the woman from the mugger using magic to stop the mugger's bullets from hitting her and pushing him back to chain him to a fire escape until the police could get there.

"Then, I guess, she talked to reporters about me and now they've started calling me Enchantress. I didn't get to pick the name. I'm not really a hundred percent onboard with it but there isn't really much I can do about it."

Minerva shook her head again but smiled. "You are exhausting. I thought, you know, you would start working at Collins Enterprises, find your path and this rule breaking would diminish but apparently it persists into adulthood."

Lucy smiled. "It's not really like that, Mum." She stood up and walked around the desk, taking her mother's hands in hers. "Listen, I'm still exploring the different paths I have before settling into one. I don't know if I'm ready to give up everything and just settle in as just the CEO of Collins Enterprises. It's why I haven't given up dancing yet. It's why I'm still finding ways to use my magic."

"This is why I wanted you to come to Hogwarts."

"It's not my fault I never got a letter."

"Oh, as if Albus wouldn't have let you in if you had wanted to."

"I think Oxford was right for me."

"You picked your father's school over mine. I should have seen that coming."

Lucy smiled. "I'm sorry, Mum."

Minerva put a hand on Lucy's cheek. "Please just be safe, my love."

"I will. Don't worry."

Minerva sighed and pushed Lucy away from her making the girl laugh. Lucy walked back to her chair and said, "Oh, so I met Harry Potter."

"Oh, did you? He's in Gryffindor, you know," Minerva said, her smile returning. "Just like his parents."

"Yes, he told me. Ron was very excited about being put in Gryffindor as well. Just Ginny and then you'll have a complete set."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "Can already tell those two will just be a pair of troublemakers. I guess it's in their blood, both of them."

"How have Fred and George been?"

"Quiet... too quiet."

Lucy laughed. "I'd watch out then. I heard you put Harry on the Quidditch team. I thought first years weren't allowed to try out. I remember Charlie complaining about that, a lot, very loudly."

"They usually aren't but Albus has made an exception for him. I think he's still trying to get back on my good side in terms of the boy. You should have seen him. He's a natural. With a little training he may be an even better seeker than Charlie! And Charlie was good enough to go pro!"

"Gryffindor hasn't won in how long now?"

Minerva furrowed her brows. "You had to bring that up. How old are you now? Eighteen?"

"I feel so loved."

"Three years now. And that was also after a long dry spell as well. I really need a win. If Slytherin wins one last time I will be forced to kill Severus Snape, just to get that smug look off his face."

"Is that a promise?"

Minerva smiled. "No. Severus is a lot grumpier now that Harry Potter is back in the magical world."

"Grumpier? I didn't think that was even possible."

"It is. I can tell you from first hand experience."

"Why's he grumpier?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

Lucy gave her a look and Minerva laughed.

"Are you still scared of him? I would have thought Enchantress wouldn't be scared of anyone."

"I have never been scared of Severus Snape in my whole entire life," Lucy replied stubbornly, crossing her arms and turning up her nose.

Minerva raised an eyebrow at her. "Never?"

"Never."

"Then go ask him now."

Lucy glared at her mother but Minerva just smiled. "Fine," she said, standing up. "I will leave and I will ask him."

"I'll have them play something nice at your funeral."

"Augh." Lucy flopped back into her chair. "You are terrible."

Minerva laughed. "No worse than you."

"So is that a no then? You're actually not going to tell me?"

Minerva's smile disappeared and she sighed. "It's not my place to tell, Lucy. Severus has his reasons and I am not at liberty to discuss them."

"Stupid. When have you ever respected someone's privacy?"

"It's just your privacy that I don't respect, dearest."

"Evidently."

Minerva smiled. "So, how is Nymphadora's training going?"

"Good, I think. She's been at the Auror Training Centre downtown almost everyday. It's a little hard, though. Work is so busy and makes me really tired and usually there's a lot of homework and she away all the time so we don't see each other much even though we live together."

"I know, love. Just please make sure you're getting your rest, Lucy. I don't want you to get burnt out. You already had so much on your plate and now you've added saving humanity to your to do list."

"I'll be fine, Mum, don't worry. Besides, saving humanity was always on my to do list. I'm just actually starting to get it done now."

"What about ballet? Have you found some time to get out to the studio yet?"

Lucy's smile faded and she sighed. "Ah, no. Still no. It's hard, Mum. I'm still so busy with work and then helping Tonks so I've not really gotten very much of a chance."

"Well, hopefully you'll get a chance to get back into it. I would hate for you to have to give up something you really love because of Collins Enterprises."

Lucy smiled again. "Yeah, I'll find a way to make time. I really don't want to stop dancing. I think once Tonks is done her exam it will be a lot easier."

Minerva nodded. "I'm sure it will. When are you going to tell her about this Enchantress stuff?"

"Probably after she gets the job. I don't want her worrying about me during her exams. I think she may be getting a little worried with how much I work late though."

"You may need to come up with a better excuse. Or, you know, be truthful. I always advocate for that option."

Lucy made a face.

Minerva smiled and shook her head. "Being the mother of a superhero is harder than I realized. I never signed up for this."

Lucy laughed. "I'm very sorry, Ama."

"It's alright, sweetheart. Just... again, be safe. Don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry, I'll be good. You don't have to worry about me, Mum. I'm like the most powerful witch since -"

"Me?"

"Aunty Amelia."

Minerva gave her a look and Lucy laughed. She shook her head at her daughter and mumbled, "Why did I invite you here?"

"Because you love me!"

"So I keep being told."

Lucy frowned. "Say you love me!"

"You're so needy," Minerva said with a laugh.

Lucy stuck out her tongue at her mother.

"We determined you were eighteen, correct?"

"You're very mean, you know that."

Minerva smiled. "I love you, darling."

"I love you too, Mum," she said with a smile.

* * *

 _Saturday, October 3rd 2009_

Lucy was sitting on a bench in the Auror Training Centre in the Ministry of Magic building going through Collins Enterprises papers while Tonks practiced for the Auror exams with some other prospective Aurors. Tonks was the youngest of all the trainees but from what Lucy had seen so far probably one of the strongest competitors. Tonks looked like she was working very hard but also having a lot of fun. Lucy, on the other hand, was working very hard and was not having very much fun at all. She kept flipping through papers looking for certain documents or running her fingers through her hair frustratedly. She had conjured up a table for herself but had to keep enlarging it as her organised scatter of pages seemed to grow.

Suddenly the door opened and Amelia Bones stepped out alongside Alastor Moody. Moody's presence was not a surprise to anyone. The Director of the Auror Office came down to watch the prospective Aurors train every so often to try and find any one promising. No one had shown promise to Moody in a long while. He was credited as the reason only five people had been taken on by the Auror Office in the last ten years since the end of the war but Lucy understood the real reason it was so hard to become an Auror and, though Moody may play a part in it, it wasn't all him. The war had brought an influx of Aurors, the restrictions and qualifications were relaxed and job offers were sent out to the top seventh year students at Hogwarts to join as soon as they graduated. This meant that now they had a lot more Aurors in the Department than was needed or feasible for the government to maintain. Which in turn meant, when the war was over and they needed to downsize, the process for becoming an Auror was intensified. Exams and interviews became more difficult, the training period grew and the starting salary was cut.

So, Alastor Moody wasn't the reason everyone in the training area stopped and looked over at the door. No, Amelia Bones could be credited with that feat. It was very unusual to see the Head of the whole Department of Law Enforcement come down to watch the training. Amelia did make it a habit to come down without warning at least once in an exam period but she was a very busy woman so her visits were very limited. Everyone froze and watched her intently, waiting for her to speak.

"Please continue," Amelia said with a smile. "Don't let my presence interfere with your training."

Slowly people got back to throwing Curses at targets or running on magical treadmills or dueling magical dummies, still watching Amelia curiously from the corners of their eyes. Moody went to walk around and inspect their techniques, glass eye whizzing around menacingly as he sent judgemental looks this way and that. Amelia watched them for a few minutes before she noticed Lucy sitting on the side concentrating very hard. Lucy had not noticed Moody and Amelia come in. Amelia smiled and walked over to her.

"Hello, love."

Lucy jumped and looked up quickly. "Oh, hey, Aunty Amelia. How are you?"

"I'm alright," she said, sitting down on the bench beside Lucy and looking at her papers. "I must say, I've been to the training center a few times and I have never found someone sitting on a side bench doing desk work. Most people come here to work out."

Lucy sighed and turned back to her work. She looked at the paper in front of her and circled a number on the page in red ink. "Tonks dragged me here and I can't afford to lose a day of work."

Amelia nodded. "Minerva told me that you were very overworked recently."

"I have twelve years of papers to go through."

"There's no one else who could help you go through them? You have to do it all yourself?"

"Maria's been helping as much as she can but it's mostly stuff I have to do on my own." Lucy sighed again and threw down her pen. She rubbed under her eyes and shook her head. "Anyways, what brings you here? What's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement doing all the way down here?"

Amelia smiled as she watched the trainees. A lot of them were shooting Lucy dirty looks for distracting Amelia from seeing their potential. "I like to drop in and see the prospective Aurors every once in awhile. I like seeing how they are outside the exam room when they don't think people are watching. Of course it takes them some time to forget my presence for me to actually watch them in their natural environment."

Lucy smiled a little as she watched Moody walk around. "So do you see any promise now?"

"Well, we haven't had a Metamorphmagus in the Auror Office for a very long time," she said, watching Tonks's hair change colour when she laughed as another applicant got hit in the face by a rogue Bat Bogey curse. "They're very rare. They're very good for undercover work."

"Tonks is really good. Not just in camouflage but in like everything else too. She's great at dueling, an amazing marksmen and very smart. The only thing I would say is she's a bit clumsy but that's all. She makes up for it in every other way."

Amelia smiled. "You're good at campaigning on her behalf."

"I'm not biased at all."

"Of course not. Well, we'll see how Miss Tonks does on her exams. For now, I should probably get going. Don't work to hard, darling." She put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "You're going to burn yourself out this way. Believe me, I've been there."

"I'll try."

"It's been a long time. We should get lunch sometime," Amelia said, using Lucy's shoulder to push herself up. "I want to hear all about your work and how you're getting on at Collins Enterprises. Raj has told me what he can but I want the first hand perspective."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm free on Tuesday if you want to go down to Rosco's for lunch."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you then, love."

"Goodbye, Aunty Amelia."

Amelia smiled, glancing back at the Aurors in training one last time, and made her way back out the door. Lucy watched the trainees too for a second. Tonks caught her eye and gave her a smile and a wave. Lucy waved and smiled back.

"Yer not training for the exam?"

Lucy looked over to see Moody wobbling over to her. Lucy shook her head. "No, I have a job."

"I've heard all 'bout yer power and yer wit," Moody grumbled as he plopped himself down on the bench making the wood bend slightly under his weight. "Heard 'bout yer O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores as well."

"From my mother, I presume."

"Yer mother, yer Aunt Amelia, yer Uncle Albus."

"Uncle Albus has been bragging about me? Really?"

Lucy didn't think that he would do that. Amelia and Minerva, yes, they were always doing that but not Dumbledore. He had better things to do. It made her really happy to think that Dumbledore, one of the most powerful wizards in the world, thought she was worth bragging about.

"Yeah, any chance he gets. Could use someone like yeh in the Auror Office. Someone with powers like yours. Yeh and that Metamorphmagus. Yeh would make one hell of a team."

"Are you offering me a job, Director Moody?"

"And if I were?"

"I would have to say no."

She couldn't be an Auror. She couldn't leave Collins Enterprises like that. This was her father's company. How could she ruin all the work he did like that? She needed to stay at Collins Enterprises. She wanted to stay.

"Why don't yeh think about it a bit before yeh give yer answer. Yeh were there during the first war. As much as yer mother tried to shield you from it, you saw the destruction it caused. We can't let something like that happen again. Muggleborn prejudice is still very high in our world and though Voldemort may be gone for now, there is no doubt in my mind that he's not dead. He will return. But this time, we'll be ready. Havin' yeh on our side would give us a huge advantage."

"If Voldemort returns. You will have me on your side, Director Moody. I may not be able to be an Auror right now but I can promise this. If he returns I am going to help fight him."

Moody smiled a gruff little smile. "That's good to hear, Miss Collins. Though, I still urge yeh to reconsider. The exam is in two weeks. I doubt you'll need much preparation."

"I think you should focus on the actual applicants. Particularly Nymphadora Tonks, the Metamorphmagus."

"Yes, I will admit. She shows some potential."

Lucy couldn't wait to tell Tonks he said that. She really hoped that Moody remembered that during her interviews and exams. Moody decided that he had watched the Aurors enough and got up again.

"Well, think over my offer," he grumbled as he started wobbling away. "Maybe I'll see yeh in two weeks."

Tuesday, October 6th 2009

"Something on your mind, love?" Amelia asked. She and Lucy were sitting in a restaurant in London near the Collins Enterprises building getting lunch. Lucy hadn't spoken in a while and Amelia could tell she was a little distracted.

"Ah, no, noth- actually, yes. Aunt Amelia, how did you decide what you wanted to do with your life?" Lucy asked, pushing her salad around with her fork.

"Well, I don't know. I had about three or four jobs that I was interested in and I just kind of narrowed it down from there. I think you have to think about what you're looking for in a job. Like do you prefer working alone or in a team, in an office or in the field, that sort of thing. If you think about that you might be able to figure out a job that is good for you. Why do you ask, sweetheart? I thought you liked working at Collins Enterprises."

"I do, I do a lot. It's just... I don't know. On Saturday, when we were at the Auror Training Centre, Director Moody basically offered me a job at the Auror Office. I would still have to do the exams and stuff but he basically said that I would have the job in the end."

"Wow. He has been talking about you. Ever since he saw you doing magic when you were seven. Not having to rely on a wand is a great advantage. You never have to worry about being disarmed or losing your wand. Your opponent will never see your attack coming. I can understand why he would want power like that on his force."

"I just... I don't know. I like the idea of being an Auror but I also like running my own company. I like the idea of using my magic for good but I also like carrying on my dad's legacy and saving the environment and stuff."

"Have you talked to Tonks about it?"

"No, not yet. I just thought I'd just forget about it unless I decide to actually go for the exam. I mean, it's kind of her thing. I don't want her to think I'm taking it over from her. She's been working so hard for this, I don't want to just walk off the street and just get the job. Especially if it lowers the chances of her getting it."

"I think you should talk to her. I don't think she'd feel that way. She might be able to help you decide. I know it's hard sometimes, Lucy. We all have times where we rethink our job choice. What don't you like about the Aurors? Why wouldn't you want to join?"

"I - I don't know... I just," Lucy thought about it for a second. "Okay, so like my work at Collins Enterprises... the overarching goal is to stop climate change and make a more sustainable world for generations to come. It's to help everybody. Muggle or Magical, everybody. Being an Auror would be great. I love the idea of using magic to help people but they try their best to have nothing to do with the Muggle world! Which I think is really stupid. I think that Aurors have the power to not only protect wizards but to protect Muggles too but they don't do that. Like, did you hear about the police shooting in Baltimore last week?"

Amelia sighed and nodded. "I did."

"Aurors have the power to capture criminals without killing them. If it had been American Aurors instead of American policemen, that man would not have died. They could bring him in for questioning without shooting him and let him go when it turned out he was innocent. There are still other problems around why they were after that man in the first place, of course, but at least he would still be alive. I don't want to just help Wizards. I want to help everybody."

Amelia smiled a little. "Then what's the problem with working at Collins Enterprises? Like you said, there you're helping everybody."

"I miss magic there. I want to be able to do magic. I want to make cars that integrate magic and Muggle technology. Wouldn't that be so cool? I want to save the world but I also want to be able to use my magic too."

"Wow, so you are in quite the predicament then."

"Yeah." Lucy looked back down at her salad and sighed again. "I know why the Wizarding World was supposed to remain a secret back in the dark ages with the Witch Trials and everything but... times have changed since then. Sometimes I feel like it would just be easier to not, you know, live in secret."

Amelia smiled. "I know. The Muggle world has changed since then. The problem is the Wizarding World hasn't. I agree that sometimes I feel the same way. Sometimes I think that it might be time for the Wizarding World to come out of the shadows. I mean, with the way Muggle technology is increasing so rapidly and this witch running around doing magic willy nilly, maybe telling Muggles about magic wouldn't be too bad. Others just don't agree. Some of them are still scared of what Muggles might do, they do outnumber us vastly, others just don't care enough about the Muggle World, and others just don't like change."

"You know how much easier my life would be if magic was just out there."

"I know, darling."

Just then the restaurant door opened and in walked Raj. He saw them sitting there and smile. "I'm sorry I'm so late," he said, as he walked over. "I'm glad you two decided to start without me."

"That's alright, love," Amelia said with a smile as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "We know you are very busy."

"How'd your meeting go?" Lucy asked.

Raj sat down beside Amelia and put his arm around her. "It went well, I think. We'll find out soon when the project proposal winds up on your desk, I'm sure."

Lucy smiled a little. "I hope they make the changes we want. I thought they would listen to you more than me."

"Eh, those guys are idiots but they'll come around, Princess, don't worry."

"What's this about?" Amelia asked.

"Just some assholes not wanting to make the changes to their project that Lucy wants because they just don't want to listen to her," Raj mumbled with a shake of his head. "All her critiques were valid and backed up with hard facts. They just didn't want to listen."

"So, I had Uncle Raj talk to them for me."

Amelia gave her a little smile. She reached out and took her hand. "You know, I was the first woman to head the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in thirty years. When I first started, I ran into the same sorts of people. Raj is right. They are idiots but they will come around."

"I hope so."

A waitress came over and asked Raj if he wanted anything. He ordered some food and a coffee. She also asked Amelia and Lucy if they needed anything else but they were both okay. When she left he turned back to the girls and said, "So, anyways, what were you talking about before I rudely interrupted?"

"About how easier my life would be if magic was just out in the open," Lucy said with a small smile.

"And I was just about to tell Lucy not to do anything stupid," Amelia said with a smile.

"Stupid? Her?" Raj asked with a laugh. "Never."

"I resent that," Lucy said with a glare.

"Of course you do," he said, giving her a flashy smile.

"Well, the Ministry is very on edge right now," Amelia said. "With the election next month and this Enchantress person running around. They are not going to be taking accidentally magic in front of Muggles very lightly right now."

"Enchantress is really giving them the runaround, huh?" Raj said with a laugh. He looked over at Lucy. "Theories?"

"Of who she is? Not really."

"You always have a theory."

"I haven't come up with one yet. I've been far too busy with work to worry about what some idiot running around London is doing."

"Right," he said, not very convinced.

Amelia didn't notice what exactly he was getting at. She just smiled and said, "I think the first case the new Aurors hired will have to take on will probably be finding this person."

"Really?" Lucy asked, trying her best not to smile.

"Yes, you should see Fudge every time he hears that she has done something new. The other Heads of Departments and I are thinking about starting a pool on when the vein in his forehead will finally pop."

"Oh god," Raj said with a laugh. "He must be very fun to work with right now."

"You have no idea," Amelia said, sounding very tired all of a sudden.

Lucy laughed. "How have you guys not found her yet? I thought there was a detection spell that let the Ministry know whenever someone does magic underage or in front of muggles."

"There is. That's what makes this so frustrating. Whoever Enchantress seems to have found a way around the enchantment. I don't know how she's done that but I am very interested to know. This enchantment is very ancient and powerful magic. It was cast by the same wizards that signed the Statute of Secrecy back in the 1600s. I don't know how anyone could get around it."

"Wow, she must be very powerful then," Raj said.

"Yes, quite," Amelia mumbled.

"Are you jealous?" Lucy asked with a laugh.

"Jealous? Me?" Amelia asked dismissively. "That's ridiculous."

"Well, I think you're very powerful too, Aunt Amelia," Lucy said with a smile.

"Yes, very, very powerful," Raj said with a smile, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck and giving her a kiss. "Even if you can't get passed an ancient spell set up in the 1600s."

Amelia rolled her eyes and pushed him off of her while Lucy laughed. "You two are both terrible. I don't know why I talk to either of you."

They laughed. Finally Raj's food arrived and Lucy decided it was time to change the topic away from Enchantress.

"So, election's next month."

"Yes," Amelia said with a nod. "I will be very glad when it's over. It's been a long campaign season."

"They keep getting longer and longer," Raj mumbled. "How's our guy looking?"

"Fudge is up in all the polls," Lucy said. "I think he'll probably win. Lister didn't perform very well in the debate the night before. Fudge definitely won that."

"He's a good performer if nothing else," Raj said.

"He touched on some good points. Lister's lack of experience, uncertainty of his platform, his stupid education reform idea," Amelia said. "Fudge also did a good job fleshing out his own platform a little more."

"I can't believe Fudge's stance is to let Hogwarts run as is," Lucy said with a laugh. "Thought he wanted to get more involved there."

"Privately he would much rather get involved in curriculum building for Hogwarts but Zelda was able to convince him that that was a losing battle. Worried he'd lose big donors like you and Minerva and knows that every Minister in the past that tried to change the way Hogwarts was run did not last very long at all. You can't attack a school almost everyone loves and teachers are a hard group to go up against. The general public respect them too much and wouldn't take a Minister attacking them very well."

"Wow, Zelda is very involved then," Raj said. "Minerva's right. She is the one with the real brains."

"I wish she was running," Lucy said.

"Maybe after Fudge we'll see her run," Amelia said.

"What about you? When are you going to run?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"No time soon," Amelia said with a laugh. "Right now I'm happy where I am at the Ministry."

"I think you'd make a good Minister, Aunt Amelia," Lucy said with a smile. "I'd donate to you way more than I did to Fudge."

"Thank you, Lucy," Amelia said, giving her a smile, "but I'm not running yet."

They talked for a while longer before it was time for them all to head back to work. They paid the bill, put on their coats and left the restaurant. Amelia said goodbye, giving Lucy a hug and Raj a kiss, before heading into the opposite direction so she could apparate back to work. Raj and Lucy started walking down the street back to Collins Enterprises.

"So, this magic spell that detects other magic," Raj said as they walked, "would you say it's the same spell that would detect magic children for Hogwarts?"

"I'm sure it's similar. I think Hogwarts is much older than the Statute of Secrecy though so it probably wouldn't be the same."

"So maybe based on, then."

"Maybe," Lucy said a little cautiously.

"So, a magic child not detected by Hogwarts' spell would probably also not be detected by this spell, don't you think?"

"I don't know."

"You weren't detected by Hogwarts' spell, right?"

Lucy gave him a look. "What are you trying to say, Uncle Raj?"

"Nothing. Just that you're Enchantress, but nothing other than that."

She gave him another look. "I've been far too busy to be running around fighting crimes, don't you think?"

"I'm not sure. You've always been quite good with time management and multitasking."

"So, what? You think I'm doing paperwork while fighting bad guys?"

"Lucy, come off it. I figured it out. It's you. Now stop lying."

"I'm not -"

"You are. Tell me who else knows. Does your mother know? Oh god, does Minerva know?"

Lucy sighed. "Yes, she knows. And Nina too. Nina figured it out first. She sent the article to Mum and she got the idea."

"How was that conversation?"

"Scary."

"I'll bet. So, they're the only ones? And me, of course, now. Tonks doesn't know either?"

"No, she doesn't."

"And what about Amelia? You tell your Aunty Amelia everything! How come you didn't tell her about this at lunch?"

Lucy sighed. "I don't know." She looked up at him. "But you're not allowed to tell her either!"

"Lucy, I -"

"No, you can't. I have to be the one to tell her. Aunt Amelia and Tonks are the same. They believe in helping people but they also believe in following the rules to do so. I have to talk to them about it at the right time and right now is not the right time. I know you guys don't keep secrets from each other but I really need to be the one to tell her when the time is right for me. It's my secret, Uncle Raj. I get to decide who to tell and when to tell them."

"Alright, I can respect that. I won't tell her."

"Thank you."

"So, Enchantress, how did it all start?" Raj asked with a smile.

Lucy rolled her eyes but started telling him the story of her very first Enchantress encounter. He loved every second of it and agreed that yes, she was very badass. Lucy smiled. Finally a reaction she wanted! There were so few people she could talk to about this and of those few Raj was the only one who didn't hold his breath or gasp or scold her for not being careful enough. Finally she had someone she could talk to about it.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm sorry of it's taking me a while to post each chapter. I've been pretty busy lately. Thank you for reading. I hope that you're liking the story so far. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think!


	38. PS -- 3

**PS - Chapter 3**

 _Saturday, October 24th 2009_

"How long is it going to take?" Lucy asked Tonks as they walked out of their flat. She locked the door behind them as Tonks pulled out her wand.

"Three days. It's a two day long exam and then the third day is the interview. I'm a little nervous. The interviews are with Alastor Moody, Amelia Bones, and Rufus Scrimgeour. Three people! That's three on one. It hardly seems fair."

Lucy laughed. She took Tonks's hand and she apparated them to the parkade under Collins Enterprises. It was very empty, it being a Saturday and all. Lucy was hoping that she would be able to get a lot of work done before Anne picked her up to run some errands and get lunch.

"I'm sure you'll do great, love," Lucy said with a smile. "Will you be staying in the Auror's dorms then or will you come home?"

"No, I have to stay overnight," Tonks said with a sigh. "I wish I could come home and see you. It would make me feel better about it being three days long."

Lucy gave her a reassuring smile and put a hand on her cheek. "You're going to knock them dead, darling," she said, giving her a kiss. "Both Moody and Aunt Amelia have said that you have a lot of promise so I think you're going to get into the training."

Tonks smiled. "Thanks, babe." She leaned down and kissed Lucy's cheek again. "Have a good day of work. I'll see you in three days, hopefully in a good mood."

"I'll cook a nice dinner for when you come back."

"No, no. I'm taking you out for dinner, remember. Just get all dolled up and we'll go somewhere fancy."

Lucy smiled. "Are you sure you'll be up for that right after your exams and interviews?"

"I will, don't worry," Tonks said. She backed away a little and held up her wand again. "I'll see you soon, love."

"Bye, Tonks! Good luck!"

Tonks smiled and apparated away to go down the Auror Training Centre for her exam. Lucy turned, walked over to the elevator and took it up to her office so she could get to work.

...

"Hello, prospective Auror Training Program Candidates," said a woman with a sharp, boney face, thin brown eyebrows, and long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail as she walked in front of a line of fifteen Auror hopefuls. "My name is Morgana Lovelace. I am your exam coordinator and proctor." She motioned towards a bald young man with dark skin who was standing off to the side with his arms crossed and a blank expression on his face. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, your steward and physical exam grader. He will escort you to and from your dorm rooms to your exam rooms.

"I am sure if you are standing here now you are already aware, but I will still warn you anyway. This is a very intense and difficult process. This is a controlled environment so you can be sure that we take every precaution to ensure your safety but be prepared for anything. Some come out of this exam as different people than they were when they came in. If you are having doubts, please leave now."

Tonks looked to her left and right at the other applicants in line beside her. They were all so much older than she was. She was probably at least five years younger than the youngest one. They were all standing stoically, staring straight ahead and holding their wands at their sides.

Lovelace flicked her wand and small tables appeared in front of each applicant. "In front of you, you will find a set of robes. In a few minutes you will be escorted to your dorm room where you will leave your bags and change into these robes. You are also given a water bottle, a watch and a folder. In your folder you will find a lot of useful information. If you do not think you'll remember everything I say to you now, don't be too concerned. All the information can also be found in your folder."

Tonks looked down at the small wooden table. Folded neatly on the left side of the table were a pair of grey robes with a gold Ministry of Magic insignia on the right breast. Beside the robes on the right corner of the table was a matching grey water bottle with the same gold insignia and the words Ministry of Magic - Auror Office - written on it. In front of the water bottle was a manila folder with the Ministry insignia on it and beside that was a completely black watch. It had a circular face with no hands or numbers on it. Tonks hadn't seen a watch like this before. How did you tell the time?

"The process will be two and a half days long. The exam shall be done in four parts in the first two days and the interview will take place on the third day," Lovelace continued. "Part One of the exam is the two and a half hour written portion. This part is further split into three, forty five minute long, sections with a five minute break between each. The first will be poisons, antidotes and injury healing, then criminal law and investigation, and finally Dark Arts detection and containment. After your written exam, you will be given an hour for lunch in which we will mark your exam. Lowest five marks will be cut immediately."

Tonks's eyes widened. She hadn't been warned that they would cut people before the end of the three days. She had thought they would go through all of it and then find out at the end if they had gotten the job or not. She couldn't imagine having to go home early and having to tell Lucy she failed before the exam had even ended.

"At one o'clock, Part Two will begin," Lovelace said in her strict, no nonsense voice. "Part Two is combat dueling. You will be assigned a partner who you will duel. Each duo will enter the observation room where Madam Amelia Bones, Director Alastor Moody, and Deputy Director Rufus Scrimgeour will watch you duel. You are being graded on your duel so keep this in mind, it's not all about winning, though that will definitely help your chances of continuing on. You will be graded on precision, defense, and speed. From these duels, the judges will narrow you down to the top six applicants. Do not leave the room immediately after the duel. Wait until you are dismissed. The judges may wish to ask you a question or two.

"The top six will be escorted back up to your dorm where dinner will be be provided. We suggest getting a good night's rest as tomorrow will be the third and fourth part of your exam. Do not attempt to leave or contact anyone outside the dorm building. Doing so will result in immediate termination of application.

"Part Three is the physical exam which will take place tomorrow. You will be awoken at five thirty a.m. sharp and will be given half an hour to get dressed and ready to go. Athletic gear will be provided. You will follow Mr. Shacklebolt, who will take you through the physical exam. This will include a two point five kilometre run, a seventy metre pursuit run, and then two minutes of push ups, two minutes of sit ups, and one minute of chin ups. You will be awarded points depending on your run times and how many push ups, sit ups, and chin ups you complete in the allotted time. Only proper form push ups, sit ups, and chin ups will count. You can receive up to seven points for each category. For an outline of this grading system, please look in your folder. Anyone who scores less than twenty five points in this portion of the exam will be eliminated immediately.

"After your physical exam, you will be given some time to relax and then will be served lunch before Part Four will begin. Part Four is the character and aptitude test. This is probably the most rigorous part of the whole exam. They will be held in a room in the Department of Mysteries. You will be escorted there by Mr. Shacklebolt. The test is done one at a time. You will enter through one door and exit through another on the opposite wall. As soon as you exit the room, you will be escorted back to your dorm. Again, rest, relax, eat dinner and prepare for your interview on the next day.

"You will not be given robes for your interview. You are allowed to dress however you like. A document telling you the time and location of your interview is inside your folder. Do not be late. One by one you will enter the office to speak with Madam Bones, Director Moody, and Deputy Director Scrimgeour. After your interview, go back to your dorm, collect your things and head home. You will be contacted on November fourteenth with your scores and, if you are successful, an offer to enter the Auror Training Program.

"Please pick up your things now and follow Mr. Shacklebolt to your dorms. You have thirty minutes to change into your robes and do any last minute preparations for your written exam. Exams start at nine thirty."

With that Lovelace walked back through the door that she had come in from. Everyone began to move so Tonks did too. She picked up the bag she had set by her feet and the things on the table.

"Follow me," Shacklebolt said, speaking for the first time. His voice was deep and demanded respect despite not being too loud. He began walking and everyone shuffled behind him. Shacklebolt lead them through the hallways of the Auror Office and up to the dorms. They all crowded into the elevator and went up to the top floor. "The dorms are usually used by Aurors who are working nights and need a place to rest during their break. You will each be given a room. Your room number and key can be found in the folder you were provided. Each room has a bed, a desk, a chair, a wardrobe, and a washroom. When you leave, we expect the room to be just as you found it."

The elevator chimed and the doors opened. Everyone stumbled out into a narrow hallway that reminded Tonks of a not so nice motel. She opened her folder and found the dorm information. She was room six. Tonks walked down the hall until she reached the door with a large bronze six on the front of it, pulled out her key and unlocked it. She walked into the small light brown room and closed the door behind her. The bed looked lumpy and uncomfortable, the wardrobe was small, and the desk looked about a hundred years old. With a flick of her wand her things flew to their rightful places around the room. She put the robes she was given down on the bed and got changed into them. She put on the watch and looked at the interface, still nothing. It was still completely black.

She had about twenty minutes before the written exam where she not only had to worry about doing well but also better than at least five people or she'd be cut immediately.

Tonks took a deep breath. She'd been studying for months and had done amazing on every practice test she did. She just needed to relax and believe in herself... right? Tonks wished she could talk to Lucy. She wanted to tell her about how crazy intense this process was, get her advice, and listen to her words of encouragement.

After she got changed and there was about ten minutes before the exam would start, Tonks went outside again and saw everyone was standing stiffly in front of their door waiting to be escorted down to the exam room. She did the same.

Eventually Shacklebolt returned and instructed them to follow. They went back down through the hallways they had come up until they reached a set of large wooden doors. As they approached the doors opened and Shacklebolt lead them inside. The room was filled with lines of desks with papers face down on fifteen of them. Lovelace was standing on a small stage at the front of the desks looking down at them.

"Please find your name and sit down. The exam will begin in five minutes."

Everyone did as they were told and Shacklebolt joined Lovelace on the stage. On the desk in front of her, Tonks found a facedown booklet, an Anti-Cheat Quill, two inkpots and a granola bar. She set down her water bottle and noticed that the face of the watch had changed. She looked at it and saw that hands and numbers had appeared on its face so she could actually tell the time now.

Exam will commence in three minutes, a female voice rang through her head. She looked around quickly and saw that others were doing the same. No one had spoken, however. It must have been the watch. Tonks sighed, took a drink of water and tried to relax a bit.

Three minutes didn't last very long. At the end of it, the female voice in her head returned and said you may begin. The sound of papers being turned over filled the room. Tonks took a deep breath and looked down at the exam.

 _You stumble upon a scene where a witch is lying on the floor. You feel a faint pulse and the witch is still breathing. There is no signs of trauma but the witch is not waking up. Which of the following potion was this woman most likely given?_

Tonks smiled. _Draught of Living Death,_ easy _._

 _What is the antidote?_

 _Wiggenweld Potion!_ Again so easy. Maybe this exam wouldn't be as bad as she thought. She read the next questions and her relief dissipated. Okay, maybe this exam is going to be a lot harder than she thought.

...

Lucy smiled as Anne walked out of the changing room wearing a long empire waist white dress with a white lace bodice. The dress straps were also lace and it fit around her waist a lot better now than it had when she had first picked it out.

"You look beautiful," Lucy said with a smile, standing up from the couch and walking over to take a closer look. "The tailor did a really good job."

"Thank you," Anne said with a smile. "She did, didn't she? Now it doesn't look like I've just draped a curtain over myself."

Lucy laughed. "No, it looks good."

"Go try on your dress too. She made the waist of yours tighter too."

"All right," Lucy said as Anne moved over to sit down on the couch and she went into the change room to change. "So, are you ready? A little less than two weeks now."

"I'm so ready. I'm sick and tired of not being married to that man."

Lucy laughed. "Then you'll be gone for a whole week. Leaving me all alone while you go have fun in Italy."

"Oh, you'll be fine without me for just one week Tonks will be back in three days and you'll forget all about me."

"I won't forget you. How could I ever forget you? So, I have a question. Was the colour of this dress at all influenced by the fact that you just wanted to see me in a lighter colour?"

Anne smiled. "No, of course not. I think you'll look nice in light pink and it matches the roses so..."

"You're lying," Lucy mumbled. She opened the changing room door and smiled. "How do I look?"

Lucy's bridesmaid's dress had an A-line skirt made of chiffon material. It had a folded, overlapping fabric design on the bodice and two straps on each arm. One on the top of the shoulder and one right below the shoulder. Anne smiled and nodded.

"You look beautiful too! Light colours suit you, you know."

"I think I look better in dark ones," Lucy said with a smile. "So, we have our dresses. We've ordered the cake, finalized the menu, and double checked the venue and the flowers. I think that's everything. Now it's just a count down to the actual day."

"Oh god," Anne said as she walked around Lucy into the changing room so that she could get changed out of her dress. "I hope that it goes well."

"It will. I will make sure of it."

Anne smiled. "Thank you, Lucy. So, how is work going?"

"It's going. I still have to go home and get some more work done. Hopefully I can get through at least five more files tonight."

"Wow," she said, coming back out of the change room. "Well, get changed quickly and let's go out to lunch. Then I'll drive you home."

Lucy smiled and got changed too. They paid for their dresses and left the bridal store. Anne drove them to a nice restaurant for lunch and then drove Lucy back home afterwards. She gave Lucy a quick hug before Lucy got out and Anne drove away.

...

The exam was difficult but it was over now. Tonks sat alone at at a table in the cafeteria, eating her lunch, as others sat in groups around her. Friends laughed and chatted as they eat, happily occupying their time until Lovelace and Shacklebolt came back to tell them to who was being sent home. Some of the larger men bragged about how easy they found the exam and how they were not worried themselves.

Tonks sighed as she looked around and watched the people around her. She was the only one sitting alone. No one wanted to talk to her, no one wanted anything to do with her. She was a child to the rest of them. At only eighteen they did not see Tonks as a threat or a possible Auror partner, they didn't see her at all. She felt invisible to the lot of them. Tonks wished that someone would talk to her but at the same time she didn't want to start a conversation with anyone. She still felt a little intimidated by everyone else. They were just so much older and more experienced than she was. They knew what they were doing. She was fresh out of Hogwarts.

Finally the door to the cafeteria opened and in walked Lovelace and Shacklebolt. Lovelace was holding a clipboard in hand. This was it. They were going to find out who would be moving on. The two Aurors walked to the other side of the cafeteria where a bulletin board hung. Lovelace pinned two pieces of parchments to the board and then walked with Shacklebolt back to the table where all the prospective Aurors sat.

"Written exams have been scored and partners for the duel have been assigned. Those who will not be continuing, please accompany me back to the dorms where you will turn in your robes and watch, collect your things, and go home. Don't feel too disheartened. The exam average this period were very high so you should be proud in that regard. If you would like to try again, the next exam period is in April 2010. Good luck."

She walked off to the side a little as everyone stood up immediately and all but ran towards the bulletin board. Tonks pushed her way to the front of the pack and looked at the sheet of paper in front of her.

 ** _Part One Rankings_** :

 _Tonks, Nymphadora_

 _Washington, Lacey_

 _Dawlish, John_

 _Mann, Hailey_

 _Lee, Jules_

 _Trey, Devon_

 _Peters, Evan_

 _Ken, Jennifer_

 _Bateman, Nathaniel_

 _Lamar, Oden_

* * *

 _Watford, Derron_

 _Renson, Cas_

 _Long, Jon_

 _Sal, Nicolas_

 _Trent, Suzan_

Tonks's eyes widened. She ranked number one! She had gotten the top score on the exam! She couldn't believe it, she was so happy. A huge smile spread across her face but disappeared immediately when she say the solemn faces of those who were cut as they walked with their heads down towards Lovelace. They disappeared after her out of the cafeteria doors and the group in front of the bulletin board started to disperse as well. Tonks looked over at the other document to see that she had been paired with Lacey Washington. Lacey had ranked second, that means she was probably good at dueling too. Tonks will need to be prepared.

"You did well."

Tonks turned to see Shacklebolt standing beside her. She smiled. "Thank you."

"Highest score that we've seen in a long time. Very impressive."

Tonks blushed a bit. "How long have you been doing this for, Mr. Shacklebolt?"

"I've been helping out with exams for three years now." He looked at the others around the cafeteria. "Well, I'll let you get back to it then."

"Wait. Just one more question, sorry. This watch," she held up her wrist to show the watch that had gone completely black again. No more numbers and no more hands. She had noticed that both Shacklebolt and Lovelace had matching ones on their own wrist. "It's not just a watch, is it? What else can it do?"

He smiled. "That's something you will find out in due time."

With that he walked away, leaving Tonks standing alone. Tonks looked down at her watch and frowned. Why couldn't she know now? She sighed and walked to go sit back down where she had been sitting before. She sat alone, picking at her food, for a little before someone actually approached her.

"Lacey Washington," a girl with dark brown skin and bushy hair said, sticking her hand out for Tonks to shake. "You're Nymphadora, right?"

Tonks smiled and nodded. Lacey seemed very nice and Tonks was glad to have someone else to talk to. "Yes, please call me Tonks," she said as she shook Lacey's hand. "I don't really like the name Nymphadora."

"Okay, Tonks." Lacey sat down at the table opposite her. "So we're partners for the duel then."

Tonks nodded again. "Good job on the exam."

"Thanks, you did amazing too. Better than me. How old are you? If I didn't know any better I would have said you were only sixteen."

"I'm eighteen. Just graduated from Hogwarts in June."

"Wow. So young. I'm twenty three so it's been awhile since I graduated. If you make it, you'll be the youngest person taken on in like ten years."

"Yeah."

"I'm glad I'm dueling you. You look like you'd be good at dueling. It'll be fun," Lacey said, surprising Tonks. Wouldn't she rather duel someone who wasn't great so that she could win without any problems? "I think it'll be an interesting duel, good for showing off what we're both capable of."

"Yeah, it'll be interesting," Tonks said with a smile.

Lacey and Tonks talked for a while. Tonks learned that Lacey was a half-blood. Her father was a muggle who worked in IT and her mother was a witch who worked in the International Law Department at the Ministry. She learned that Lacey had been in Ravenclaw and had mostly kept to herself during school which was why they had never seen each other before.

Finally it was time for the second part of the exam. They all got up and followed Shacklebolt out of the cafeteria and into what looked like a waiting room. Lovelace was standing in front of a set of large wooden door waiting for them. She motioned for them to sit down in the seats around the room. Tonks sat down beside Lacey near the front and looked up at the woman.

"Congratulations for making it through Part One of your exam. Now onto Part Two; Combat Dueling. Behind these doors is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, Director of the Auror Office, Alastor Moody, and Deputy Director of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour. Each pair will be called one by one into the room to duel in front of these three judges. Madam Bones, Director Moody, and Deputy Director Scrimgeour will judge you, taking into account your duel and your written exam scores, and decide which six of you will move on to the next portion of the exam. Be respectful of your opponent and your judges. Each duel will end when one of the duelers is disarmed. We are not dueling to maim or kill so please keep that in mind. Your name will be called when it is your turn. Good luck."

She moved to sit down next to Shacklebolt and talked quietly with him. No one else spoke. Everyone was waiting anxiously for their turn. A little time passed and the door opened. A small, scrawny young man with short brown hair and green eyes walked out with a clipboard in hand. He must be an intern at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Nathaniel Bateman and Oden Lamar?" he said and two men stood up. "Please follow me."

More time passed, mostly in silence, until the door opened again and the intern came out again. "Evan Peters and Jennifer Ken." Then, "Jules Lee and Decon Trey," and, "John Dawlish and Hailey Mann."

It was only Lacey and Tonks left in the waiting room now. They had been doing it in the opposite order of the rankings so Lacey and Tonks were going last. As more time passed, Tonks was getting more and more anxious. She had met Amelia Bones a few times and only because she was Lucy's Aunty Amelia. Amelia had always been very kind and warm but Tonks knew she was also just as hard and strict as Minerva was. She hoped that she could make Amelia proud during her duel.

Finally the door opened again and the inter came back. "Nymphadora Tonks and Lacey Washington. Please follow me."

The two girls got up and followed the man into the room. The room was dark, illuminated by a few torches sparsely placed along the stone walls. It was circular and dipped into about a twenty five foot deep pit. At the edge of the pit was an ornate wooden desk with three people sitting at it. Amelia Bones wore her hair up in an intricate braided updo and wore long, flowy brown robes. Alastor Moody looked bored, his glass eye whizzed around crazily, and his leg jiggled impatiently. Rufus Scrimgeour had a hard stoney face and a lionlike mane of thick black hair. His eyes looked quite cold and judgemental as they entered.

Tonks and Lacey followed the man down the stairs into the pit. They stood in the center and looked up at the three judges. The intern quickly scurried off back towards the judge's desk. Amelia flipped through some papers before looking down at the two girls.

"Nymphadora Tonks and Lacey Washington. You two have achieved the highest two scores on the written exam. We look forward to watching you duel. In your own time, please."

Tonks and Lacey turned to face each other. They brought their wands up in front of their faces before whipping them back to their sides and giving each other a low bow. They turned on their heels and each took ten steps away. When they turned around and faced each other again, their wands were raised and they were ready to duel.

Lacey sent the first spell. A flash of purple light came towards Tonks and she blocked it quickly. She sent a flash of red towards Lacey. Lacey blocked it too and sent a jet of water Tonks's way. Tonks stepped to the side to avoid the jet of water and with a flick of her wand redirected it around her and back towards Lacey. A move that Lucy had taught her. Lacey didn't see that coming and quickly jumped out of the way. She wasn't fast enough though and the water hit her in the arm.

...

Lucy shut the folder she had been looking at and sighed. She piled all her papers neatly and got up, walking towards the kitchen and pouring herself a cup of tea. She leaned back on the counter and looked back at the ever growing pile of files she still had to get through. Why was the work not slowing down? When would she finally get just one night to relax?

 _Ring! Ring!_

Lucy walked back over to the table and picked up her cellphone. She smiled a little and answered the call. "Hello."

"Hey, kid," Daniel's voice came through the phone.

"Hey, Daniel. How are you doing?" Lucy asked sitting back down at the table.

"I'm doing good. It seems that you've been quite busy recently. No one thought to tell me that you were now calling yourself Enchantress?"

"I - oh. I completely forgot! I thought Nina would have told you. Also, I'm not calling myself Enchantress. I didn't get a choice on the name."

"No kidding. I would have thought you of all people would have picked a better superhero name than that."

"Hey, it's not that bad."

"Whatever you say. So, you stop muggings, ATM robberies, and assaults, huh?"

"What can I say? I've dedicated my life to fighting crime and the forces of evil."

"Is that from... Powerpuff Girls?"

"Yes."

Daniel shook his head despite Lucy not being able to see him. "Well, I guess I always knew this was coming. You always wanted to be a superhero when you were younger. Like Wonder Woman or Peggy Carter."

"You think she's heard about Enchantress? Peggy Carter, I mean."

"I'm sure she has. I mean all the guys here talk about Enchantress. Everyone has their own theory of who it could be."

"Anyone gotten close?"

"Nope. Unless you count Gandalf the Grey as close."

Lucy laughed. "I would say no."

"So, who all knows?"

"You, Nina, Mum, and Uncle Raj."

"That's almost everyone important."

She didn't respond.

"Are you going to tell Tonks?"

"I will. Eventually."

"Uh huh."

"I will. Just... not yet. She has a lot on her mind right now."

"Yes, she has her exams this weekend right?"

"Yes, they started this morning and it's three days long. It's all shrouded in secrecy so other than a few parts that they've told us, I have no idea everything it entails."

"Wow. It's all because of the war, you know. That's why it's so hard to become one. They have too many."

"Yeah, I know. I really hope Tonks makes it. She's going to be so heartbroken if she doesn't."

"I'm sure she'll do great. She's been working really hard. She would make a great Auror."

"She'll be very happy when I tell her that you said that. I wish I could talk to her now but she isn't allowed to talk to anyone outside of the exam building at all until it's all over."

"Wow, that's intense."

"Yeah, I know. I miss her already."

Daniel laughed. "I'm sure you'll make it three days."

"I don't know, Daniel. It's hard."

"I know, kid."

"Speaking of which, I miss you too. When are you coming home next? It's getting scary out here in London. So many muggers. I don't like it."

Daniel laughed. "I'm sorry, kid, but I don't think I'll be able to get back anytime soon. I'm going to be deployed down to another city soon for about another year."

"Another year!"

"I was just back in August, Lucy."

"I know but I hate it when you're gone. I like it better when you're here."

"I know, kid. It'll go by fast, I'm sure. Then when I get back you can tell me all about your first year as CEO and Tonks can tell me about how awesome it is to be an Auror and Anne can tell me about all the great work she's doing with JCC."

"And I'll take some time off so we can spend a lot of time together before you go again. I'll show you my office. It looks different now. I got to decorate it however I wanted to."

"How different does it look?"

"Well... I guess not really that different. I've gotten new furniture. All the couches were like fifteen years old, you know. I also put up new paintings and decorations. More me, you know. I had everything shipped back to Rochester for Mum to look through and decide what she wants to keep."

"That's nice."

"I kept some of Dad's photographs. He kept a lot in his office. Me, you, Mum. Pictures of all of us together. They're cute."

"I can't wait to see them."

"So, what are you doing exactly in this new city?"

"You know I can't tell you that stuff, kid. I don't know why you keep trying. I'm never going to tell you anything like that. You don't need to know."

"I've been through war before, Daniel," Lucy said. "I can handle your war stories. You don't have to try to protect me anymore."

"Still not going to tell you. Enjoy peacetimes, Lucy. You don't have to worry about this kind of stuff right now. I just want you to always feel safe and I don't think my stories will help you feel that."

Lucy sighed. She knew that Daniel was just being a good older brother but she didn't like it when he treated her like she was still seven.

"Anyways," Daniel said, deciding to change the subject. "You said Uncle Raj knew about you being Enchantress but you didn't say anything about Amelia. She knows, doesn't she?"

"She does not. I haven't told her and I've asked Uncle Raj not to tell her."

"Why would you do that? You've always told Amelia everything before anyone else. I mean you told her you liked Tonks first and then when you two started dating you told her before you told anyone else."

Lucy sighed. "This is different. I mean, I know Aunty Amelia wouldn't tell the Ministry and throw me in Azkaban but... I don't know. She's very into law and following the rules, you know. I don't know."

"I think you should tell her. I think it would be better than her finding out on her own and then realizing that you were hiding it from her. I think she may also be able to help you get on the Ministry's good side."

"Their good side? Really?"

"Well, how sustainable do you think this is, Lucy? You can't hide your identity forever. Eventually someone is going to figure out who Enchantress is and when that happens you are going to have a lot of explaining to do. If you turn yourself in and explain -"

"The Ministry doesn't work like that. Fudge is furious. He's not happy about someone running around doing magic in front of Muggles. Turning myself in won't get me anything but a oneway ticket to Azkaban. I have to keep my identity hidden, Daniel. There's no other option for me right now. I'm just hoping that eventually the Ministry will calm down, stop sending Aurors to find her and just let her do her thing."

"They're sending Aurors after you?"

"Aunt Amelia said that if any new Aurors are taken on this year, their first assignment will be to find Enchantress."

"You realize that if that's true and Tonks gets on the Aurors, it'll be her going after you?" Daniel asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Lucy was talking so nonchalantly about her possibly being thrown in prison.

"Yes, I do realize that."

"And what the hell are you going to do if that happened?"

"I was hoping I'd figure it out by then."

"Oh god, Lucy."

"It'll be okay, Daniel. Don't worry."

"How can I not worry?"

"Now you sound like Mum."

"Oh god, I do, don't I? Goddamnit, Lucy! Look at what you're doing to me!" he exclaimed.

Lucy laughed and shook her head. She and Daniel talked for a long time before he had to go so he could call Nina and Minerva as well. She said goodbye, 'I love you', and 'be safe', before hanging up the phone with a sigh. Her phone calls with Daniel always ended the same way. With him assuring her that he would be fine and her worrying about him going off into combat. She gave him an hour to talk to both Nina and Minerva before picking up her phone again and calling Minerva as well.

...

Tonks and Lacey had been dueling for a long time now. They were very evenly matched. As soon as one of them would get the upperhand the other would get them back on even footing. Finally though, Tonks saw her opening and made her move. She took a step forward, ducked below Lacey's attack and sent a flash of red light her way. It hit her in the chest and caused her wand to fly out of her hand towards Tonks. Tonks grabbed it out of the air and held her wand up at Lacey. Lacey sighed and straightened up a little bit.

"Excellent," Amelia's voice boomed from above them. "Please exit the area and stand in front of the judge's desk."

Lacey and Tonks bowed to each other again and shook hands. Tonks gave her back her wand and they walked up out of the area to face the judges.

"You both did well," Amelia said. "It was quite the duel. I do not have any questions for you. Alastor, Rufus, do you?"

"Nah," Moody said with a shrug.

"Yes," Scrimgeour said. "Miss Tonks, how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen, sir."

"Eighteen," he said with a little nod. Tonks couldn't tell if Scrimgeour thought that was a good or bad thing. "And you are a Metamorphmagus, correct?"

"Yes," Tonks said, changing the colour of her hair from pink to blue to demonstrate her abilities. Scrimgeour nodded again and then looked back at Amelia.

"I am done."

Amelia nodded. "You are dismissed. Please follow Aldo out."

The intern that had walked them in stepped forward again and motions for them to follow. Lacey and Tonks followed him to the opposite side of the room they had come from. Aldo opened the door and motioned them out, closing it behind them. Lacey and Tonks walked into the second waiting room where everyone else was waiting now. Some partners were still talking to each other, others sat as far away from each other as possible. Lacey seemed to be in an okay mood for someone who just lost a very important duel. To Tonks's surprise, she still sat down beside her in the waiting room. She didn't say anything though and Tonks wasn't sure if she was as okay as she seemed to be.

"Ah, I'm sorry for..." Tonks wasn't exactly sure what she was sorry for. She wasn't sorry for winning the duel. She was very happy about that, actually.

"It's okay," Lacey said with a smile, saving Tonks from coming up with something. "You don't have to be sorry. You won fair and square. You did good."

"Thanks," Tonks said with a smile. "You did really good too. I'm pretty sure you would have had me in a couple more moves."

"Yeah, maybe we can have a rematch sometime. I would like to redeem myself. I think that our duel was good, though. I think, even though I didn't win, I was able to show off some of my dueling skills."

"Yeah. Lovelace did say that winning wasn't as important as precision, defence and speed."

Lacey nodded.

They waited for a while until the doors opened again and Aldo came out again. "You will be called back into the room in your pairs to talk to the judges. Nathaniel Bateman, Oden Lamar, please follow me."

The two men stood up and followed him into the room. This time they didn't need to wait very long for him to come out again. He called Evan Peters and Jennifer Ken in next. Then Jules Lee and Devon Trey. John Dawlish and Hailey Mann went in after them and then finally it was Tonks and Lacey's turn.

They stood up and followed Aldo back inside the room. He led them to the front of the judge's desk and they turned to face the judges yet again.

"Miss Tonks, Miss Washington," Amelia said, looking down at a piece of parchment in front of her. "You both did very well during your duel. We are very pleased to invite both of you to continue on in this process."

"Both of us?" Lacey said with wide eyes and a smile.

"Yes," Amelia said with a nod and a small smile. "Please make your way back to the first waiting room. We will hopefully be seeing you both on Monday for your interview."

Tonks smiled. She and Lacey thanked all the judges and then walked back to the first waiting room where the other four Auror hopefuls were sitting, waiting for them. Dawlish and Mann also both made it through Part Two. As did Trey and Ken. They all looked very happy and very pleased with themselves. Lacey and Tonks came out and Shacklebolt got up to lead them all back to their dorms.

When Tonks entered her room, she sighed, changed her clothes and took a nice warm shower. That was a very stressful first day. She was sure that tomorrow would be even more stressful. When she got out of her shower and dried her hair, she found a dinner tray sitting on her desk. She walked over and sat down, pulling the tray towards her and took the silver lid off the plate. She picked at her food and looked down at the watch on her wrist. So it was more than a watch, Tonks knew that, but what else did it do? Tonks thought about the AI systems that Lucy had told her about. Muggle technology that could be used like assistants by talking to it. The watch had talked to her during her exam, telling her when to start and when there was only five minutes left. Maybe it worked along the same lines as those Muggle systems.

"Hello, watch," Tonks said with a little uncertainly.

 _Hello_.

It worked! Tonks smiled. "Are you called 'watch' or do you have your own name?"

 _You can call me whatever you like._

"Well, I guess I could give you a name. It might be better than just calling you watch. You sounded like a girl in my head so I guess I can name you... Holly. Do you like that name or would you prefer something else?"

 _Holly is a nice name._

"Great! So, what exactly do you do, Holly?"

 _I am the magical network system for the whole of the British Ministry of Magic, Auror Office. I serve many functions including; quick communications between Auror members, scanning and assessing dangerous situations, logging evidence, navigation, and quick research or archive search. Every Auror member gets access and learns to use these features slowly during their training period._

"I see. So, what features can I use now?"

 _Date and time, preloaded schedule, and navigation through the Auror building._

"That's not very much."

 _If you are successful in attaining a position in the Auror Training Program, you will gain access to the rest of my features. For now you are restricted to the essentials that will help you in your application process._

"Do very many people figure out about you during this process?"

 _Very few try to talk to me. Most assume that I am just a strange watch. Those who do use me are not as caught off guard during Part Four of the application process._

"Oh, so I will have to use you during my character and aptitude test?" Tonks asked, eager to find out more about this part of the exam. This was the only part of the exam that was shrouded in secrecy. No one told them much about what it would entail.

 _Yes, you will have momentary access to all my features during the fourth part of your exam._

 _"_ What will I have to do?"

 _I cannot say._

Tonks sighed and shook her head. "Of course you can't. Can you tell me if it involves more dueling?"

 _I cannot_.

"Can you tell me -"

Just then there was a knock on her door. Tonks frowned, got up, and walked over to open it. In her doorway stood Lacey. She was wearing a short nightgown and carrying her dinner tray with a smile on her face.

"Hey! I thought we could eat dinner together. I was bored just sitting alone in my room," she said, holding up her tray a little.

Tonks smiled and nodded. "Sure," she said, stepping aside so she could come in. She was glad to have a friend to eat dinner with. "I'll draw up a chair for you."

Lacey smiled and came inside. Tonks closed the door behind her, pulled out her wand, and conjured up a chair so that Lacey could sit at the desk with her. Lacey sat down, putting her tray on the desk, and Tonks sat down beside her, pulling her tray closer to her.

"Hey, good job today," Lacey said. "You were a worthy opponent. Dueling you was fun."

"Thanks. You did really good too. Put up a good fight, had me on the ropes a couple times."

"Well, I'm glad they kept me even though I lost." She looked over at the things on the desk and around the room. "So all the rooms are the same. Same books on the desk, same newspapers." She picked up the day's Daily Prophet, looked over at the front page, and then turned it for Tonks to see. "Have you heard about this Enchantress person? I've heard the Ministry is furious."

Tonks took the paper from her and nodded. "Yeah. I heard that they've stationed Aurors undercover everywhere to try and catch her."

"They're not very happy with her exposing magic. I think what she's doing is pretty cool, though. I mean, I wouldn't do it because I don't want to get tossed in Azkaban and I'd rather just save people the legal way, but still cool."

Tonks smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty cool."

"Don't know what they're going to do with her when they find her."

"Do you think they will?"

"Find her? Yes, I think so. Eventually. She can't hide from a huge group of wizards and witches forever."

Tonks nodded. "I'm surprised she's hidden herself for this long. I mean, how come the detection enchantment didn't catch her?"

"I don't know. Maybe she has help inside the Ministry. Inside information so she can avoid the Aurors."

"You think she might be an Auror?"

"Maybe it's Morgana," Lacey said with a laugh. She shook her head. "No, probably not. I think she's too..."

"Strict?"

"Yeah. She's too strict. I think she would have a heart attack if anyone even thought about wearing dark grey robes instead of light ones."

"Or brown shoes instead of black ones."

Lacey smiled and nodded. She put down the paper and looked at the other ones on the desk. "They have muggle papers too. I think, other than the Muggle Affairs Department obviously, the Auror Office is probably the most involved in the Muggle World."

"Well, a lot of the stuff the Aurors deal with would affect the Muggle World too," Tonks said as she watched Lacey pick up a newspaper The Guardian and flicked through it.

"Are you very involved in the Muggle World?"

"Eh," Tonks replied with a shrug. "My dad was a Muggleborn so my grandparents are muggles and I live with my girlfriend who works in the Muggle World but she's a witch."

"Oh, you have a girlfriend?" Lacey asked, looking up from the newspaper.

Tonks nodded.

"What's she like?"

"Oh, she's great," Tonks said with a smile. "She helped me study and train for this actually. She's been really supportive about all of this."

"What does she do?"

"She runs her own company."

"Oh, like her," Lacey said, turning the newspaper over and showing a large photo of Lucy smiling at the camera. Lucy Collins works to create more jobs for anyone laid off in last year's financial crisis.

Tonks smiled and nodded. "Yes, a lot like her."

Lacey shook her head. "I hope not too much like her. Lucy Collins presents herself as this intelligent, caring person but she doesn't care about people as much as she pretends too. It said she's trying to create jobs but it leaves out the fact that her company laid off so many people last year too. My dad used to work for Collins Enterprises and she didn't bat an eye when he was laid off."

"Ah, I think it's hard," Tonks said, a little uneasily. "Last year hit a lot of companies in London really hard. A lot of people lost their jobs and besides, she wasn't even the CEO last year."

Lacey shrugged. "I'm just saying. She makes so much money, probably like billions of dollars a year, and now she's patting herself on the back for creating a few measly paying jobs. Lucy Collins is just trying to make people like her by doing a little bit of charity. She made a Charity foundation but then put her best friend as the head of it. It wasn't to help people, it was to make a position where her friend could make a lot of money too. She wants people to think she's this great and loving person who uses her money for good so that you won't look too closely at what she and her company is actually doing."

Tonks didn't say anything. She remembered Lucy telling her that she would have to be prepared to hear people say bad, and possibly untrue, things about her. It still made her sad to hear someone talk about her like this, painting her in this cold, vindictive light. Lucy was so much more than Lacey made her out to be. Lucy cared about people a lot. Tonks knew that Lucy had been very sad about all the people that had been laid off from her company last year. It had hurt her to let that many people go. She cared about people so much and wanted to help them all, it was just hard. Like Minerva said, you can't fix all the pain in the world all on your own. Lucy had a hard time with that, and Tonks knew that she did, so it made her sad when people tried to push the narrative that Lucy just didn't care. She cared so much.

Lacey sighed and put the newspaper down again. "So, anyways, are you ready for tomorrow? How have you been training for the physical exam?"

"I've been training with my girlfriend. She's a dancer so she's really fit. She helped me get more in shape and ready for this test."

"That's nice. I've been training alone mostly. Boyfriend's been too busy to train with me. It must have been nice to have someone to push you."

"Yeah, definitely. I think most of my training just consisted of trying to keep up with her."

Lacey smiled and nodded. "Them dancers, man."

"Yeah. Hey, do you know much about Part Four?"

"No, not at all! No one is allowed to talk about it. It's supposed to be a secret. You don't get to know what happens until you get in. That's why you go in through one door and come out the other side so you can't warn the incoming person."

"And then immediately sent back to your dorm."

"Yeah. Hopefully it's not too bad."

"Yeah."

Tonks and Lacey talked for a little while longer before she decided that it was time to get going. "Early morning tomorrow. Get some sleep. I'll see you later, Tonks."

"Bye, Lacey."

After Lacey left, Tonks got into her bed and sighed. It was nice having someone to talk to but Tonks missed Lucy. She wished that she could talk to her. Lucy would know what to say to make her feel a little more confident. She wished that she had stuck up for her more when Lacey was saying those things about her. Lucy would not have just sat back while someone insulted Tonks like that. She would have stuck up for Tonks. Tonks wished that she had done more for her. She didn't know why she didn't just tell Lacey that Lucy was her girlfriend. She just didn't want Lacey to think differently of her or treat her strangely because she was a billionaire's girlfriend. She had never thought about these things before. She never thought about how the amount of money Lucy made actually made her kind of uncomfortable. Lucy made so much more than Tonks would ever make, even if she got this job.

Why did it matter? It shouldn't. Tonks pushed her uncomfortable feelings to the side and shook her head. She had bigger things to worry about right now. She shouldn't be wasting mindpower thinking about stupid things that didn't matter.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Ooh, I'm excited. Writing the Auror Exams is really fun. Things are really getting exciting now. I hope you're all enjoying it so far. Thank you for reading and please leave me a review letting me know what you think! I love reading your reviews :)


	39. PS -- 4

**PS - Chapter 4**

 _Sunday, October 25th 2009_

 _Please wake up, Miss Tonks._

Tonks opened her eyes and blinked a couple times before looking around the room in search of the source of that voice. She then remembered the watch on her hand and sighed. "Right, what time is it, Holly?"

 _Five thirty. You have thirty minutes to get dressed and ready for the third part of your exam. Please change into the athletic clothes provided and stand outside your dorm room door when you are ready._

Tonks got up. She found a new set of clothes sitting on the bedside table. She changed into them and got ready for the day as fast as she could. When she was done, she stepped out into the hallway and saw the others already there. She met eyes with Lacey and gave her a small smile. Lacey smiled back.

Shacklebolt walked down the hallway and looked them over. "Good morning, I trust you all slept well."

Tonks definitely had not had the best sleep of her life on that lumpy mattress.

"We will begin today with our two point five kilometre run. Please follow me to the training course."

They all followed Shacklebolt down the hall and into the elevator. They got down to the main level of the building and he led the way down corridors they had never been before. The halls were quite empty. Only a few Aurors who were just getting off their night shifts were around. Shacklebolt stopped in front of a set of door and they walked in.

It felt like they had just walked out into Hyde Park. Tall trees spread out on one side of a small cement path and a small duck pond sat on the other. Sunlight shone down on them and when Tonks looked she could see a bright blue sky with few fluffy white clouds above them. Birds chirped, bees buzzed around some flowers, squirrels climbed up trees, and a gentle breeze swayed the blades of perfectly green grass.

"This is Eldritch Diggory Park, named after the founder of the Great Britain Auror Office back in the seventeenth century. It is summer all year round here and a very common place for people in all Ministry departments to come by to eat lunch or go for a run in. The path goes through the trees and around the pond and is exactly two point five kilometres in length. As soon as you begin your run, your watch will begin timing. It will stop and award you points based on the time you receive as soon as you make it back to this door. If you stray from the path you will be automatically terminated. Do not think that you must keep pace with me, go at your own pace and give it your best. If that is faster than me, great, if that is slower, fine, just try to finish no matter what. I am about to begin. You may start whenever you feel ready."

Shacklebolt started his run and, despite being told they could start in their own time, everyone followed after him. Tonks paced herself and Holly kept her updated on her distance, time, and heart rate. As she ran, Tonks wondered if Lucy was doing the same. They always went for morning jogs together. She wondered if Lucy would keep it up even if she wasn't there to run with her.

...

Lucy woke up early the next morning and went for a run like she did every morning when Tonks was usually here. She already missed Tonks, her morning jog wasn't the same without her. She wondered how Tonks was getting on at her Auror exam. She was probably kicking ass as always. Lucy couldn't wait for her to come home and tell her all about it.

"Ah, Miss Collins! How are you this morning?" an older woman tending to her small flower garden said as she jogged by.

Lucy stopped and pulled out one of her earbuds. She gave the woman a smile. "Hello, Mrs. Reed. I'm all right. How are you?"

"Oh, can't complain," Mrs. Reed said, getting up and taking off her gloves. She was a nice old woman who lived near Lucy and Tonks. They had a habit of stopping and talking with her a little bit every morning during their jog. Mrs. Reed walked over and leaned on her small white fence. "Where is that lovely friend of yours?"

"She's away for the weekend," Lucy replied, walking a little closer to the fence as well. "Visiting her parents."

"That's nice. Haven't seen your mother in a while. How is she doing?"

"She's doing well. Working hard, you know how it is."

"Of course. Well, I'll let you get back to your jog but if you're lonely with Miss Tonks gone and all you should stop by for dinner."

Lucy smiled. "Thank you for the offer but Mum and Nina are coming over for dinner today. I'm sorry"

"Oh, that's alright. Give my best to the both of them."

"I will, thanks," Lucy said. She said goodbye and continued on her run.

After her run, Lucy went back home and had breakfast. As she ate she went through some Collins Enterprises files and got some work done. After that she checked up on some things for Anne to make sure everything would run smoothly on the day of her wedding and then talked to Minerva on the phone.

"I'm going to the studio today," Lucy told her happily. "My first time back since I started at Collins Enterprises."

"That's wonderful, darling. I'm glad you've finally found some time to go out. You must be very excited."

"I am. I'll probably do some dancing on my own for a little bit, just get back into it, and then Jared Cooper is coming by and we're going to look at choreographing something new. We don't know if we're going to enter any competition or anything with this new choreo but it'll just be fun to do it."

"That sounds nice. Maybe you will enter a new competition. I love coming down to watch you dance."

"I know. So, are you still coming by for dinner tonight?"

"Of course. I'll be there at five thirty. I doubt Nina will arrive until six thirty at the earliest however."

"She gets off work at five forty five, she said, so it's not really her fault. Cut her some slack."

"I know. So, how's Tonks doing?"

"I have no idea. She's not allowed to talk to me until the exam is over. On Monday when I get off work, she'll be home and we're going to go out to dinner. She'll tell me all about it then, I'm sure."

"That sounds lovely."

"Yeah, we haven't gone out in a really long time so it'll be nice to go on an actual date again. Oh, by the way, Mr. Jackson asked about you again a few days ago when I was down there for lunch." Lucy could just hear Minerva rolling her eyes through the phone. "What? I think he likes you!"

"I'm not going to date the man who makes your sandwiches, Lucy," Minerva muttered with a shake of her head. "I don't need you matchmaking for me."

"Oh, you did it to me all the time. I'm just returning the favour."

"Don't worry about it. That kind of favour does not need to be repaid."

Lucy talked with her mother for a little while longer before finally saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. When the call ended, Lucy got up and grabbed her dance bag before heading out to the studio.

She apparated downtown and walked until she made it to the small old building that she knew and loved. She went inside and found it all but deserted. Walking up the stairs into the dark studio room, she turned on all the light, got changed and looked at herself in the studio mirror. It had been so long since she had been able to put her ballet slippers on again. She missed them so much.

The music played and Lucy let it go through her. She moved her arms and legs in time with it. The hardwood, the mirrors, the music. Lucy was home. She felt like she had been away for so long and now finally she was home.

The music swayed through her, taking her away from everything. The stress of work, the tension of being Enchantress, the loneliness of Tonks being gone, it all melted away. Ballet took her to a new world. A peaceful one. One that could not be moved or destroyed by anything outside these studio walls and she had missed this world so much. Never again, she told herself as she pirouetted gracefully in rhythm, would she stay away from this world for so long.

...

 _Congratulations, Miss Tonks, you have completed your run in eleven minutes and twelve seconds. This earned you a total of seven points out of an available seven points. Please take a moment to rest and lower your heart rate._

Eleven minutes and twelve seconds. It wasn't her best but it was enough to earn her seven points and that's all that mattered right now. Tonks picked up her water bottle and took a couple big gulps as she walked around a bit, trying to cool down. Lacey and one other person had finished ahead of her. They were sitting under the shade of a tall oak tree. Tonks walked over and sat down as well.

They waited for the rest of the Auror hopefuls to finish their run and then Shacklebolt took them back inside to the Auror Training Centre. Finally a room that Tonks had actually been in before. They did their sit ups, push ups, and chin ups next. In two minutes Tonks was able to do forty eight push ups earning her seven points and fifty two sit ups earning her another seven points. She was unfortunately only able to do seven chin ups earning her only six points.

Next was another run, this time a seventy metre obstacle course that was supposed to simulate running after a perp. They took turns going through the obstacle course which consisted of three hurdles, two targets they had to hit with a disarming spell, and a fifteen metre chase of a magical dummy. Tonks was able to complete her run in eighteen point three seconds earning herself another seven points. In the end she had gained a total of thirty four points. It wasn't the highest, unfortunately. That award went to a prospective Auror named John Dawlish who earned thirty five points. Lacey also earned thirty four points but she had missed the seven point goal in the push ups portion of her test.

After the physical exam ended, Shacklebolt looked at their scores and smiled. "None of you got below twenty five points so you will all be moving on to the final part of the exam, good job. You all did well. Please go shower and then head down to the cafeteria for lunch. You will be escorted to the Department of Mysteries at twelve forty and Part Four will commence at exactly one p.m. on the dot."

Everyone left the training centre for the showers. Lacey sped up so she could catch up with Tonks. "Hey, good job there."

"Thanks, you too," Tonks said with a smile.

"Dawlish over there beat us," she said, motioning with her head over to the tall man with very short, wiry black hair. He looked very tough and big, walking with his head held high. "Doesn't talk very much. I've tried to start a conversation with him but he didn't really take. Just kind of made 'mmhmm' noises whenever I said anything."

"He's smart, though. Ranked third in the written portion."

"Yeah. We'll have to watch out for him, I guess, but if he still acts like that during his interview I doubt they'll take him on."

Tonks looked over at Dawlish. He seemed very self-assured and confident. Tonks wished she could be that certain of her place here.

...

"So, how have you been Lucy? It's been so long," Jared said. He and Lucy were sitting in a small cafe near the dance studio. They had finished dance for the day and decided to get some lunch.

"It has. We shouldn't wait so long to dance together next time," Lucy said with a smile. "I've been good. How have you been?"

"Yeah, we really shouldn't. You're probably the best partner I've ever had. I've been all right. Did I tell you that I was asked to choreograph for Beyonce's newest music video."

"Wow! Really? That's awesome! So you're going to meet Beyonce!"

"Yeah, It's very exciting. So, how's the girlfriend?"

"She's good. She's away this weekend, visiting family, but she's good. How's yours?"

"She's good. I'm actually... thinking about... popping the question."

"Really? That's great! First Anne and Mitch and now you and Casey!"

"Yeah," he said with a sheepish smile. "Speaking of which, are you excited for the wedding? Mitch told me that you've basically been planning it for them."

"I've just been helping, not planning it for them," Lucy said with a laugh. "I mean, you know Anne, she's such a control freak. She would never just let me plan it all for her. I've just been helping plan it. You're coming right? I remember sending you and Casey an invite."

"Yes, we've already RSVPed, don't worry. We're coming. Casey already used it as an excuse to buy a new dress. A very expensive dress."

Lucy laughed. "Of course. It's a must right."

"Right."

They talked for a little while longer before deciding to head out. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. It was a nice warm day so Lucy decided to walk around downtown a little and look in some shops instead of going home right away.

...

After lunch, the six Auror hopefuls were escorted down through the main Ministry building and down to level nine, the second lowest level, where the Department of Mysteries was. They went through a large black door and through a few empty rooms before finding themselves in another waiting room. They sat down in the chairs and waited to be told what they were going to be doing next.

"Congratulations everyone," Lovelace said when they had all sat down, "for making it this far. From here we can take any number of you. That means we could take all six of you or none of you. Part four is the character and aptitude test. One by one you will go in through these doors and face whatever is inside. When your exam is over you will exit through a door on the other side of the room and your watch will guide you back to your dorm. After you enter this room, we will not see each other again unless you are accepted into the Auror Training Program. Your watch will inform you of your interview time tomorrow and navigate you to the room it will be held in. Try to remain calm and do your best. Good luck."

Lovelace moved to sit down and Shacklebolt came forward. "Up first, John Dawlish."

Dawlish stood up and walked forward. Shacklebolt stepped back and opened the door for him. Dawlish looked between him and the door before puffing up his shoulders a little bit and walking through. Shacklebolt closed the door behind him and then moved to sit down beside Lovelace.

After about an hour, Shacklebolt stood up again and said, "Nymphadora Tonks."

Tonks took a deep breath. She had not expected to be up so soon. Lacey gave her a reassuring smile and mouthed the words good luck. Tonks stood up and walked towards the door that Shacklebolt held open for her. He gave her a small smile as she walked by and closed the door behind her. Tonks was plunged into darkness. There was no lights in this room. It was pitch black in here and Tonks couldn't see anything.

 _Miss Tonks, welcome to the Auror Atrium._

Suddenly bright lights turned on and the room was plunged into whiteness. Tonks closed her stinging eyes quickly and rubbed them. When she opened her eyes again, she found that she was standing in the middle of a bustling London street. People pushed passed her irritably, walking briskly.

"Uh, excuse me," a woman with short blonde hair wearing a pantsuit muttered as she slammed her shoulder into Tonks's back. "You need to keep walking or move to the side. People are trying to get to work."

Tonks quickly moved to the side like she was told. That felt very real. She felt like that was a real person who had just hit her. It felt like the morning rush but Tonks knew it was well past lunch time now. This didn't feel like a magical illusion of some kind but Tonks new that it must be. It must be very powerful magic.

 _Two operatives traveling on foot, Holly's voice went through her head. One wearing a long black trench coat and the other a black business suit and holding a briefcase. Your mission is to retrieve the briefcase at all costs._

Tonks looked around and saw the two burly men walking on the opposite side of the street. She started walking in the direction they were walking in on her side of the street.

"Holly, what do I need to know?" she asked quietly, holding her watch up a little closer to her mouth. She looked over at the men every so often to make sure she could still see them.

 _Gelvin Pharos is the one in the trench coat. Wanted for two counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted murder. The one with the briefcase is Carlos Vasquez. Wanted for torture by use of Unforgivable Curse and possession and sale of illegal dark magical objects. The briefcase is thought to contain stolen goods to be sold. These two are very dangerous and will recognise you if you get too close._

"Well, that's easily fixed," Tonks said. She was about to change her appearance when she remember the presence of all the muggles. "The Muggles will notice if I change here, won't they?"

 _I assume so. Yes._

"Holly, I don't like your tone," Tonks said, though she smiles. "Can you track them while I duck into an alley or something?"

 _Yes_.

Tonks found an alley and quickly turned into it. She looked around to make sure no one was around and then changed her appearance to resemble the rude woman who had bumped into her earlier. She looked down at the clothes, grey Auror robes. Those won't do. She pulled out her wand and changed them to look more muggle business casual so that she would blend into the sea of people around her.

"Alright, Holly, where too?"

 _Next left._

 _Cross the street._

 _Speed up and turn right._

 _Straight for a little while._

 _They are just around the next right._

Tonks stopped running and slowed to a casual walk. She turned the corner and was now a few feet away from the men.

 _These men are very dangerous. Proceed with caution._

...

Lucy was walking down sidewalk when suddenly she smelt something. She looked around and saw thick black smoke coming from a building a little ways away. Her eyes widened when she saw flames dance around the building. She heard yelling and screaming and made a very quick decision.

Lucy started running. She ducked into an alleyway and pulled out her Enchantress coat and bandana from her bag. She put a sticking charm on her bag, stuck it to the bottom of a fire escape escape balcony, and ran back out of the alley. Lucy ran passed the crowds of bystanders and pushed to the front, until she made it to the building.

It looked like something out of a nightmare. The building was already black with soot and twenty foot flames danced out every window. Smoke filled the air and Lucy could already feel it in her lungs. The building was so tall, there could be hundreds of people still inside. How could such a large fire start so quickly?

"What happened?" she asked a man standing nearby who seemed to have just come out of the building himself.

The man looked at her with wide eyes. "Ah - ah, I don't know... there were just... just flames and - and there are still people in there!"

Lucy didn't have to be told anything else. "Call 999," she called as she ran towards the building. As she got closer, she felt the smoke engulf her. She hadn't even made it to the building yet and was already having a coughing fit. She pointed her finger at her own head and cast the Bubble-Head Charm on herself. A large bubble formed around her mouth and nose, creating a mask of clean air around the bottom half of her face over her black bandana. She kept going towards the building, fire licking the walls and smoke billowing out of the windows. She opened the door of the apartment and went inside.

The building was dark, stuffy, and blazing hot. Lucy was already drenched in sweat as she took a couple more steps into the building. Sparks and embers floated around her as she moved. The flames must of fried all the wires causing the lights to go off. The only illumination she got was from the flames that climbed the walls. It felt surreal. Lucy felt like she had been transported down to hell. She grabbed a doorknob and quickly pulled back, the heat searing her hand badly.

"Oh god!" she cried as she looked down at her burnt hand. She took a deep breath, thanks to the Bubble-Head Charm, and looked around. What was she going to do? She had to think fast if she was going to save anyone.

...

"What do I do if they apparate away?" Tonks asked her watch as she kept following behind the two perps. Suddenly the watch began to move. A small compartment slid open from the side of it and a little piece of clear glass flew out.

 _The Invenietor: A device invented by Albus Dumbledore in 1998. It allows you to find anyone one it is attached to, even if they have apparated away._

Invented by Dumbledore? Wow. Tonks watched the Invenietor stay low to the ground and weave in and out of people's legs until it reached Vasquez.

 _Where shall I stick the Invenietor, Miss Tonks?_

"Um, his trousers, I guess," Tonks said. The glass stuck itself to the bottom of his pant leg without him noticing. Tonks kept up pace with the two men, making sure to keep a few feet behind at all times. She thought about what would be the best way to retrieve the briefcase without a muggle seeing them.

She kept following them for a little while until they ducked into a small alleyway in between two very tall office buildings. This was her chance. Tonks pulled out her wand and followed them in. She cast a quick Muggle repelling charm on the alley and then looked around for Pharos and Vasquez. They were still walking in front of her. Tonks aimed her wand and cast a stunner towards Vasquez. It hit him in the back and he fell forwards to the ground. Pharos turned and sent a curse her way.

Tonks blocked it and threw one of her own as she took a few steps forward and changed her appearance back to herself. "Gelvin Pharos," she said in the most confident and fierce voice she could muster. "You are under arrest for the possession of illegal dark objects and intent to sell. Come quietly and I won't add resisting arrest to your list of charges."

Tonks smiled to herself, damn that was cool.

Pharos didn't seem to think so, however. He laughed and shook his head. "Go run and play with the other children," he said as he flicked his wand and sent another spell her way.

Tonks frowned. She blocked his spell and cast one of her own. Suddenly the fire escapes on each building on either side of them turned into chains and came at him. One of the chains grabbed his left arm while he blocked the other. He flicked his wand and the chains turned to sand. The sand collected together and shot at her at great speeds. Tonks quickly stepped out of the way and flicked her wand. She gained control of the sand bullet and brought it back around to blast towards him. Pharos sent a flash of red light at the sand ball. The lightning went straight through the middle of it and sand exploded everywhere.

"I've had enough of this," Pharos growled. He waved his wand and a huge wave of fire came towards her. Tonks moved quickly and created a magical shield in front of her to stop herself from getting burnt. Fire surged all around her and she could feel the temperature of the alley increase immensely. When the waves of flames stopped coming Tonks looked up and saw Pharos grab the briefcase from Vasquez's still unconscious body and start running away.

Tonks looked around and saw the flames were climbing the buildings around her. All she could think of was that she had destroyed their fire escapes! She quickly conjures up water from the tip of her wand and starts putting out the fire on one of the buildings but the flames on the other kept climbing up.

 _Miss Tonks, Pharos and the briefcase are getting away._

Tonks looked and saw that he was near the end of the alleyway already. She had to decide what was more important to her right now, saving these Muggles or finishing her mission. Tonks didn't know what to do. She wanted to do a good job and complete her mission but she didn't want to let these people die! Who knew how long it would take for the Muggle firefighters to show up and how many people would be stuck in the fire by the time they got here.

 _Miss Tonks -_

"I know! I know!" Tonks said quickly. She finished putting out the fire on one building and turned to the other. There was no way she was going to be able to put this one out. The flames had climbed almost to the top now. She couldn't do anything about the briefcase now. She started running in the opposite direction as Pharos and towards the front of the office building.

...

Water gushed from the palm of Lucy's hand as she walked down the halls of the first floor. "Hello! Is anyone in here?" she called loudly. "I'm here to help you! Please say something if you're here!"

She kicked down doors and threw water in so she could make sure no one was inside. There were so many floors, there was no way she was going to be able to do this on every floor. Okay. Take a minute. Think about this, she told herself. You are a witch. Use your magic. Lucy stopped walking and closed her eyes. She let her magic flow out of her and fill the whole building, a spell to show her what was going on in the building. It allowed her to visualise the floors and see the people inside them.

 _Family of five in room 8A, two people in room 9A and 17A._

Lucy opened her eyes and ran to the rooms she felt people inside. She kicked open the door of room 8A and found two adults and three children inside. One of the children had a crossbeam over her foot. That must be why they hadn't been able to get out. Lucy moved forwards quickly and with a flick of her hand, the crossbeam moved off of the child's foot. With another flick, bubbles appeared around their mouths and noses. She picked up the girl and handed her over to her father.

She then blasted out a window and moved the fire escape that was made unusable by flames over. She doused it with water and then motioned for the family to go. "Get out! Go!"

The woman grabbed the hand of the other two children and dragged them out the blasted window. The man followed behind her. "Thank you!" he called as he climbed out but Lucy didn't wait. She ran to the next room and did the same thing. When she had cleared the first floor, she went up to the next. No one on this floor. The next. Two people. Next.

Lucy cleared six more floors. She was so glad that most people had been able to get out on the lowest few floors. As she got higher, however, there were a lot more people. She heard the sirens of the firefighters coming closer and felt a little bit of relief.

 _Thirty two people on this floor._

Thirty two! Lucy felt the flames eating away at the lower floors. It wasn't safe for her to send them down that way anymore. She burst through the doors, casting Bubble-Head Charms on everyone she encountered, and guided them all to a room that faced the street where the firefighters were. She blasted through a wall and looked down.

"UP HERE!" she yelled, pointing her finger at her throat and using an amplifying charm to raise the volume of her voice. "WE NEED A LADDER UP HERE!"

She watched the firefighters move around below her but they didn't seem to understand what she wanted them to do.

"They're not going to get up here in time!" a woman behind her exclaimed in a very panicked voice.

Lucy knew she was right but she didn't know what else to do! The building wasn't going to stand too much longer and there were still four more floors she needed to get to.

"We're all going to die!"

"What are we going to do!?"

"Enchantress do something!"

Lucy felt tears sting her eyes but did her best to keep them back. In all her work as Enchantress so far Lucy had never had to do anything this extreme. She had never had to worry about this many people all at the same time, crying and yelling at her, before. She needed to help these people. She needed to save them. She needed to figure out something.

...

Tonks ran in through the front of the building and yelled at the woman at the front desk, "The building is on fire! Evacuate everyone!"

"Fire?" the woman said with a frown. "The alarms haven't gone off."

"You can see it on the side of the building outside! There's no time to wait! Evacuate everyone!" Tonks yelled as she moved towards the stairs. "Hurry!"

The woman looked at her for a second before something on her computer started flashing. She looked down and saw that the fire alarm on the fourth floor had gone off. She quickly grabbed her phone and called into the building intercom.

As Tonks climbed up the stairs towards the top floor, she heard the woman's voice come over the intercom. "The building is on fire, please calmly evacuate as quickly as possible."

She heard commotion coming from inside the floors and the doors to the stairs swung open. Tonks moved out of the way as hundreds of people ran out and down the stairs passed her. She kept pushing past them towards the top floors.

"Can you see inside the building, Holly?"

 _Six floors, all offices. Three hundred and twenty two people are evacuating and should make it out in time. The fire has spread to the top two floors and is moving quickly. Nine people are still in the building. Two on floor six stuck behind some fallen debris and seven on floor five trapped inside a conference room._

"Okay," Tonks said, running up the stairs towards the top floors. She was so glad she had Holly to guide her and make her feel a little more calm.

 _Air quality has reached two hundred and twenty one AQI. This poses immediate health risks to anyone in close proximity. Please take necessary precautions._

Tonks nodded and pointed her wand up to her face. She cast a Bubble-Head Charm on herself and a large bubble covered the bottom half of her face, providing her with clean air to breath.

"What's the best plan of attack?"

 _Start at the top floor and take the two there down with you._

Again Tonks nodded. She kept running until she made it to the sixth floor. She looked at the bottom of the door and saw smoke coming out the bottom. She sighed and felt the door. It was hot. She kicked it down and sent water onto the flames that blazed inside. Thick smoke rolled all around her and Tonks couldn't see anything.

"Where are they?" she asked.

 _Keep moving straight ahead. Tonks followed Holly's directions until she couldn't go any further. They're just beyond the wreckage._

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Tonks called.

"Yes! Oh my god! Can you hear us? We're in here!" a man's voice came through the debris.

"We can't get out!" a woman said between painful sounding coughs. "We're stuck!"

"Okay, back up as much as you can. I'm going to blast through!"

She gave them a few seconds before raising her wand and sending a blast of water through the fire and wood. When the debris was moved and she could see the people on the other side of the wall, she cast a Bubble-Head Charm on the both of them. She then cast Momento Obliviscaris so that they would forget all about her and magic as soon as they left the building.

"Come through!" she yelled.

The man helped the woman through the hole Tonks had created and then came through himself. The woman looked at Tonks in shock. "What - what is this? How did you do that? What are you?"

"No time to explain. Let's go!"

Tonks guided them back towards the stairs. "Are the stairs still safe to use, Holly?"

 _Yes, they are made of cement. They can still be used as an exit point_.

"Great," Tonks said. She put out fire around them to clear a path for the three of them back to the stairs. When they made it, Tonks motioned for them to go ahead of her. "Go all the way down. I'll get the others."

They ran down ahead of her and Tonks followed behind until the next floor.

"Okay, Holly, we're doing good right?" Tonks said as she kicked through the fifth floor door. "How's the building looking?"

 _Fire has spread through to the rest of the floors. Everything has become very unstable. The people are in conference room F and they have breathed in a lot of smoke. One has collapsed._

"Oh no," Tonks said. She had Holly guide her to conference room F and saw that the door was being blocked by a huge beam that must have fallen from the ceiling. She could see the people through the glass walls. They saw her and waved at her to help them. She moved towards the glass.

"It's security glass," an older man said through it. "We've tried to break it but it's not working!"

Tonks looked at it and nodded. "Move back. As far back as possible," she said before pointing her wand at the glass. They backed up and with one flick of her wand Tonks shattered the glass. "Come on, let's go!"

Everyone scrambled through. One of the men helped an unconscious older man through. Tonks cast the Bubble-Head Charm and the memory charm on all of them and started back towards the stairs.

...

"Okay," Lucy said finally, deciding what she was going to do. "You have to jump."

"Jump?!" a man exclaimed looking completely horrified. "We're eight stories up! We would never survive that fall!"

"I'll keep you safe!" Lucy said, walking to the side and motioning for someone to come forward. "You won't fall, just trust me." No one moved. Lucy looked at them pleading them with her eyes to listen to her. "Please! Please, just trust me! I won't let you fall! If you stay here I won't be able to keep you safe! Please!"

Still no one moved. All frozen in fear. Finally a little girl, who couldn't be any older than nine years old, stepped forward. "I trust you," she said quietly. She looked back at her parents. "I trust Enchantress. She's a superhero."

"No, Maddie, no," the man said quickly, moving forward to grab her but she moved out of his reach and ran towards the hole in the wall.

"Just jump?"

Lucy nodded. "I won't let anything happen to you, love. Just jump."

She gave Lucy a little smile, looked back at her horrified parents, and jumped. Lucy waved her hand and the girl stopped gaining speed and floated down to the ground slowly and safely. Her parents had run forward and watched their daughter land on her feet on the ground without any problem at all. Their eyes widened as they watched the disbelieving firefighters take the little girl over to the paramedics to get looked over.

"It's safe," Lucy said. "Just jump!"

They looked at each other before following their nine year old daughter's lead. Others started jumping too and Lucy floated all of them down to the ground safely. Once this floor was cleared she moved on to the next one.

She was able to clear the next two floors, sixty five people, using the same tactic and was running up the stairs to the next floor when she heard rumbling and felt the floor below her giving way. She jumped towards a sturdier part of the floor and looked around her.

 _Support beams are giving way_.

The building is going down. Lucy took a couple deep breaths and kept jumping up the stairs. Just two more floors. Two more floors and she'd be done.

Lucy jumped on the wrong step and suddenly the floor fell through. She fell down towards the lower floor but grabbed the edge of the broken floor before she fell into the flames below.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she yelled as the flames on the floor below engulfed her left leg. She let go with one hand, pointed it downwards and doused the area with water. The cold water eased the pain on her leg a little bit. Lucy fell down to the lower floor onto her butt and looked down at her leg. Her trousers were burnt away and painful burns ran down her leg. "Oh goddamn!"

"ENCHANTRESS!" a male voice came from outside. It must be a firefighter with a megaphone. "THE BUILDING IS GOING TO COLLAPSE SOON. WE DON'T THINK IT WILL HOLD FOR VERY MUCH LONGER! YOU AND ANYONE ELSE LEFT IN THERE NEED TO GET OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"

Lucy quickly scrambled up to her feet and built herself a new staircase to climb up to the next floor, ignoring the pain in her leg. She needed to get the last twelve people out of here as quickly as she could. She could feel the building support beams giving way and waved her hand. The fire escape outside melted, came into the building and secured itself around the beams. That may buy her a little bit of time.

She made it up to the next floor and was greeted by a horrific sight. The fire had completely destroyed this floor and the one above but the people here was still alive. She knew they were. The fire was all around the hallways, climbing the walls and dancing on the floors and ceilings. Lucy threw water down on the floor as she ran down the hall towards the room where her spell told her the people were. Right before she got to the room, however, she heard rumbling again. She looked up just in time to see the ceiling collapse in front of her. She jumped backwards to avoid getting crushed by the falling debris and watched the fire blaze closer to her. She sent water towards the flames but there was just too many. She needed to get passed them to the people still here.

 _Seven people left_.

Lucy's eyes widened. She wasn't fast enough! Five people had died! Lucy tried her best to push through the flames to get to the others but it wasn't working. The fire was too much for her to fight all on her own. She planted her feet as sturdy as she could, raised her arms and concentrated as hard as she could. Concentrate, just concentrate, she told herself. Slowly the debris in front of her started moving upwards. It was very heavy and took all her might but it was moving!

"ENCHANTRESS!" the firefighter's voice returned, barely audible above the crackling fire. "YOU MUST GET OUT NOW! THE LOWER LEVELS HAVE GIVEN WAY, THE BUILDING IS COLLAPSING!"

Lucy heard more cracking and rumbling. The floor under her started shifting and cracking. The roof of the building fell from the floor above onto the debris she was already trying to move. She couldn't holding it up and everything went crashing down.

 _Three people left_.

Oh god. The ceiling was coming down around her and she was forced backwards. She couldn't do it. Lucy couldn't do it. She couldn't save them. She needed to leave them if she was going to survive this. She needed to get out. Tears filled her eyes again as she turned her back on the flames and ran in the opposite directions. She blasted a way out on the other side of the hall and without thinking too much, jumped.

The sensation of falling lasted a few seconds before she stopped her fall and pushed herself over to the roof of a nearby building. She looked down at the ground where firefighters were still blasting water up at the building and paramedics were tending to the wounded. Their Bubble-Head Charms had disappeared when they hit the ground and they were mostly fine, just a few scratches here and there. They pointed up at her, shouting and thanking her, as she watched them from her vantage point. Tears fell down her cheeks as she watched the building give way fully and the wood around the cement and, now steel thanks to Lucy, support beams came tumbling down. The rubble sent more ash and smog into the air all around them. London would hold the smoke of this fire for days to come. It would serve as a constant reminder for Lucy that she had failed. She had failed to save the lives of twelve people. Twelve. Some of them probably children. Probably families. Wiped out of existence. All because she had not been able to make it up to the last two floors in time.

Lucy turned away from the fire and ran across the roof she was on. She jumped to the next and then the next until she was near where she had changed into her Enchantress clothes. "Accio bag."

The black bag whizzed out from the alley below and over to her. She changed into her other clothes and climbed down the fire escape if this building. When she made it to the bottom she tried to calm herself a bit.

Lucy kicked a metal dumpster nearby with her good leg and cried, "Augh!"

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sank to the ground, leaning her back on the wall of the building she had just come down from. Twelve people! She had missed twelve people! That was a lot people that didn't deserve such a horrific death. Lucy put her head in her hands and sobbed. She was a terrible superhero. She had let twelve people die! What kind of superhero let people die? She would bet anything that Dorcas Meadowes and Peggy Carter would have found a way to save everyone in that building. Everyone.

Lucy didn't know how long she cried for but when she finally was able to calm herself down and stop the tears, she stood up, wiped the dirt off of herself, and tried her best to pretend like nothing had happened. Like she hadn't just been in one of the scariest and hardest situations of her life. All of downtown London smelt like smoke now so she didn't have to worry about stinking herself. She tried to walk but her burnt leg wasn't having it. Instead, Lucy just decided to apparate back home.

...

 _Miss Tonks, the stairs have been compromised. Debris too large to be moved is blocking the way._

"Shit," Tonks mumbled, looking around quickly. She needed to find another way out. "What do you think, Holly? Any other ways we could go?"

 _To your right is the alley. If you blast through the wall you may be able to use the fire escape of the building across from this one._

"That could work," Tonks said, she turned and pointed her wand at the wall. A jet of water came out of the tip of it and punched a hole through the wall. The people watched her with disbelief but she paid them no attention. She ran up to the hole she created and looked across the alley. She waved her wand and a ladder on the fire escape across from them unattached itself to the balcony above and moved towards them. It landed in front of her. She moved aside and looked at the people behind her. "One at a time please."

They looked at each other before forming a line and started to crawl across the ladder to the balcony on the other side.

"What about him?" the man who had been helping the unconscious man asked as he came up to the front.

"I'll take care of him," Tonks replied. "You go."

He nodded and put the man down before taking his turn across the ladder. Tonks looked down at the unconscious man. She flicked her wand and he started floating upwards. She climbed onto the ladder and the man came floating after her.

Tonks followed the rest of the office workers down this building's fire escape. She fixed the ladder she had moved when she made it to the bottom and then, with one of the unconscious man's arms around her neck and supporting most of his weight, she led them around the building to where the firefighters and paramedics were. Tonks put her wand away and brought the man towards an ambulance so he could be looked after. The memory charm worked and nobody remembered how they got out of the fire. Firefights ran around with their hoses, policemen took statements and paramedics bustled around patients.

Tonks was able to slip away in the confusion, going back around to the alley where she had left Vasquez, still unconscious. She pulled out her wand again and looked around. She found his wand next to him and the Invenietor flew off his robes, back into her watch. She flicked her wand and handcuffs appeared around his wrists. She put him upright and then put her wrist up to her mouth.

"Pharos and the briefcase got away but Vasquez has been arrested. Maybe he can help us find his friend," she said. Holly didn't say anything. Tonks looked down at her watch with a frown. "What do I do now?"

Suddenly the sound of stage lights turning off was heard and Tonks was plunged into darkness. Holly's voice returned once again. She said, _simulation complete._

Tonks had completely forgot that it was a simulation. It had felt so real. She smiled to herself. She may not have gotten the briefcase back but she had saved nine lives and she counted that as a huge win. A door opened, letting some light into the room but not enough for her to see if anything else was inside it.

 _Please exit the Auror Atrium._

Tonks walked out of the darkness into the lit up hall on the other side. She found herself in the lobby of the main Ministry building. She looked back but the door that she had come through had disappeared. The Department of Mysteries was definitely full of mysteries.

Tonks walked through the pedway back to the Auror Office building and up to her dorm room. She was very pleased with how her exam went. She thought she had been able to show off a lot of her disguise and tracking skills as well as her good under pressure decision making skills. She felt exhausted though. She knew it was a simulation but she could still smell smoke on herself. She decided to take a shower, eat an early dinner and go to bed.

...

 _Please bring Burn Paste when you come over._

 _A lot of Burn Paste._

Minerva sighed and rubbed her forehead. What had Lucy done now? She stood up and looked at the time. It was almost time for her to go down to London anyways. She got up from her desk and started out of her office when her phone buzzed again. She looked down at it.

 _Don't let anyone know it's for me._

Again Minerva sighed. She walked down the corridors, putting her phone back into her pocket, and made her way down to the Hospital Wing. She walked in to see Madam Pomfrey sitting at her desk flipping through some paperwork.

"Hello, Poppy."

"Ah, Minerva," Pomfrey said with a smile. "What brings you down here?"

"I was actually wondering if I could steal a bit of your Burn Paste."

"Oh? Have you burnt yourself?"

"A little bit yes but it nothing to worry about," she said, hoping that for once Pomfrey would just do what Minerva asked without question. "Just a vial or two of paste should fix it up with no problem whatsoever."

"You should really just let me see," Pomfrey said, standing up and walking towards her cupboards. "I will be able to make sure it heals properly without leaving any scarring."

"Really, it's fine. Just give me the paste. I don't need you to look at it to know that it's just a burn."

Pomfrey picked up two vials of paste but made no move to hand them over. "How did it happen?"

"I dropped some hot water when I cooked dinner for myself and Lucy last."

"Oh my. Was the water boiling? I should really take a look if it was. Where is the burn? Your stomach? I should really take a look, Minerva. Just to make sure there's no infection."

Minerva had had quite enough of this. "I'm fine, really," she said before snatching the vials out of Pomfrey's hands. She turned on her heel and started towards the door. "Have a nice day, Poppy."

Pomfrey watched her go, glaring at her back with her arms crossed. She didn't understand why that woman always refused medical attention. She wished that Minerva would just be reasonable for once in her life.

Minerva walked out of the Hospital Wing and back up to her office where she Flooed down to Lucy's flat in London.

" _No one knows how the fire began yet but the flames engulfed the entire building almost immediately trapping all the residents inside_ ," a news anchor on the television was saying when Minerva entered Lucy's sitting room.

She stepped out of the fireplace and looked down at Lucy who was sitting on the couch with her leg up and tears her eyes. Minerva got very worried all of a sudden. "What's happened?" she asked, racing over to the couch and kneeling down in front of her daughter. "What's happened, my love? Are you hurt?"

"I - I couldn't save them, Ama," Lucy whispered, more tears falling down her face. "I - I couldn't get to them in time."

"Who?" Minerva asked, not understanding what Lucy was saying.

Lucy pointed over at the television and Minerva turned to look. On the screen was a video, filmed on what looked like a cellphone, showing a huge apartment fire. A banner on the bottom of the screen read Enchantress saved one hundred and ninety eight people from Westmount Apartment Building fire. Minerva's eyes widened as she watched bodies come out of the building but they didn't fall. They... drifted. They slowly floated down to the ground like leaves gliding gently from the tops of trees in autumn. After these people made it safely to the ground, some time past before anything else happened. The building began to fall. Another body jumped from the building but this one didn't land on the ground. Minerva saw Lucy land on the roof of a building nearby.

" _Enchantress saved the lives of one hundred and ninety eight people today from one of the biggest apartment fires London has seen in a very long time_ ," the reporter on screen now said into her microphone. " _Unfortunately the bodies of twelve people who were not lucky enough to make it out in time were found in the rubble_."

Minerva sighed and turned back to look at Lucy. She put a hand on Lucy's cheek and wiped the tears away from under her eyes. "It's all right, my darling. You did a great job. You saved so many people today. You should be proud."

"Mum, twelve people are dead. I - I tried... I tried to make it to them too but - but I couldn't! I couldn't save them! They died because I was too slow!"

"No, darling! No!" Minerva said, getting up off the floor and hugging Lucy closely. Lucy moved over so Minerva could sit down on the couch beside her and leaned into Minerva's chest. "It's not your fault. You did everything you could. You tried your best. You saved one hundred and ninety eight people today. That's a lot of people. I know it's heartbreaking that some people still died but you did everything you could and the people you did save are so, so grateful. I know they are."

"What kind of hero let's people die?"

"You didn't let them die. You fought hard to save them. It's just that... sometimes things happen that aren't under your control. The building collapsed. That's not your fault. I know that had you had more time, you would have saved those twelve too."

Lucy kept her face buried in Minerva's chest and Minerva rubbed her back. The news report kept going. They showed the rubble on the ground. The firefighters had finally gotten the fire under control but there was not much left of the building. The reinforced steel support beams stood with nothing left to support. The onsite reporters began interviewing people who had been inside the building. A few people talked quietly about being trapped and what they saw before Lucy showed up. A few started crying and the reporter gave them reassuring hugs and tried to keep them calm. Then a little nine year old girl came on the screen and smiled up at the camera.

" _I wasn't scared_ ," she said, making Lucy look up at the television again. " _Mum and Dad were scared but I wasn't because I knew that Enchantress would save us! She's so cool! She told me to just jump and she would keep me safe. She said, 'I won't let anything happen to you, love. Just jump', and nothing happened. She didn't let me get hurt."_

 _"Is there anything you'd like to say to her if she's watching?"_

The girl looked into the camera and said, " _Thank you for saving me and my parents, Enchantress_." She looked down at her shoes and continued a little more quietly. " _I said that I wasn't scared but that was after you came. Before that, when we were trapped and didn't know what to do, I was really scared. Thank you for saving us."_

Minerva smiled. "See," she said quietly, combing her fingers through Lucy's hair. "You saved that little girl. You did a lot of good today and I'm very proud of you, my love."

"I - I just wish I could have saved them all," Lucy whispered, leaning back into Minerva's chest and hugging her tightly.

Minerva sighed and gave her a little squeeze. "I know, love. I know."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you're enjoying my take on the Auror Exams so far! Please leave a review letting me know what you think!


	40. PS -- 5

**PS - Chapter 5**

 _Monday, October 26th 2009_

Tonks woke up early the next morning and decided to have breakfast out in Diggory Park. She took the elevator down to the main lobby and walked towards the park. It was a lot busier now than it had been all weekend. Monday brought not just weekend and night shift Aurors but also interns, lawyers, and secretaries. When she went out into the park she found a lot of people sitting in the grass or on benches eating their breakfasts too. She found a nice spot on the grass near the duck pond. She watched the ducks swim around and smiled. This room had probably become her favourite room in all the Ministry buildings. She couldn't wait for her exams to be over so she could bring Lucy here.

"Hey!"

Tonks looked up and saw Lacey walking towards her. She smiled. "Hey, had the same idea as me, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. Mind if I sit?"

"No, not at all," Tonks said, patting the ground beside her. Lacey smiled and sat down before unwrapping her breakfast sandwich. "So, how was your character and aptitude test?"

"It went well, I think. A lot different than I thought it was going to go but good. How about you?"

"Good. It was interesting. I've never seen magic like that before. It felt so real."

"I know. It felt like you were actually there. When is your interview?"

"It's at ten thirty. You?"

"Mines at ten so right before yours. We'll still keep in touch even if we don't both make it onto the Aurors right?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

"Great! I'll give you my address and you can write me. We can meet up for coffee or something. And maybe I can meet your girlfriend."

"Yeah," Tonks said, though she doubted that would be a good idea considering everything Lacey had said about Lucy the other night. "So, any plans for after the interview is over?"

"I think I'm just going to go home, take a nap and then have dinner with my boyfriend. I miss him. It feels like it's been so long."

"I know. It's been a long three days. I can't wait to go home and sleep in my huge comfy bed."

Lacey laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I get it. Do you have any plans for after your nap?"

"I'm going to take my girlfriend out for dinner as well. It's been a really long time since we've gone out on a date since I had been training for this and she's been really busy with work so it will be nice to spend a nice night with her."

"That sounds really nice. I hope you two have fun."

"Thanks. I hope you have fun with your boyfriend as well."

"Thanks. Oh, hey, did you see the news today?"

"No."

Lacey dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a folded up muggle newspaper. "The papers in our room change every day, you know. Apparently yesterday there was a huge apartment fire not too far from here. Enchantress showed up and saved a lot of people. Twelve people died but they say that it would have been like two hundred and something if it wasn't for her."

"Wow." Tonks took the article from her and read it over. "It's lucky she was there. Part of my test was going through a building that was on fire but there were only nine people inside. I can't imagine having to try and save two hundred and ten people still stuck inside."

"Yeah, I know. I didn't go into a fire on my test but that sounds really scary. I can't imagine doing it in a simulation, let alone in real life."

"It was pretty scary. But it was okay. What did you have to do in your exam?"

"I had to stop these two guys from getting away with a briefcase. It was in a really crowded area so I had to be very careful about not getting caught doing magic by any Muggles. It wasn't too hard to with this watch helping me out. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah," Tonks said with a small smile. They had gotten the same mission. Lacey's hadn't ended with a fire though it seemed. She guessed the simulation changed with how the person reacted to it. "I named her Holly."

"Nice," Lacey said with a laugh. "I called mine Dotty."

"That's a nice name."

Tonks and Lacey talked for a little while longer before leaving to prepare for their interviews. Tonks was a little nervous to have to sit in front of Amelia, Moody and Scrimgeour and answer their questions. She really wanted to make a good impression. She went through nine different outfits until finally landing on a nice deep blue blazer, white blouse, and black trousers. All borrowed from Lucy's closet, of course. She kept her makeup minimal, never being very good at it anyways, and went over some common interview questions that they might ask. Tonks really hoped this went well. She was very confident with her performance in the exam and didn't want to blow the interview.

...

Lucy walked into work this morning to find that everyone was talking about yesterday's Westmount fire. She did her best to avoid as much conversation on the topic as she could as she made her way up to her office but no one was going to allow that. Jillian at the front desk was going on about how she had been walking by when Enchantress floated all the people down to the ground. Jake from Marketing was talking about how he was pretty sure that Enchantress was a girl that lived two doors down from him in his apartment complex. Craig from Accounting was very doubtful of that theory. When she was asked who she thought it was, Lucy just said she didn't know and that she had never believed in magic until she had seen the videos on the news. They all seemed to agree with this statement and it appeased them enough to buy her some time to come up with an excuse to get away.

She finally made it to the elevator and took it up to the top floor. Lucy walked down to her office and saw Maria sitting in her desk in front of it. Maria looked up and smiled when she saw her but her smile faded when she noticed that Lucy looked a little down.

"Are you alright, Lucy?"

"I'm fine, Maria," Lucy said dismissively as she walked up to the desk. "Just feeling a little under the weather. How was your weekend?"

"It was good," Maria replied, not looking very convinced by Lucy's answer to her question. "How was yours?"

"Nothing too special. Tonks was gone all weekend visiting her parents, as you know, so I was on my own for most of it. I did go out with Anne to run some last minute errands for the wedding and then on Sunday, I got out to the studio which was nice."

"Isn't your studio by the Westmount building? Did you see the fire while you were down there?"

"No, I left before the fire started. I think I was in the tube when it was going. I just missed it. I saw it on the news when I got home."

"It was such a huge fire. It was lucky that Enchantress got there in time to save all those people."

"She missed twelve though."

"Yes, she did but it wasn't really her fault. The building collapsed before she could get to them. They were saying that she waited till the absolute last second to get herself out of there. If she had stayed a second longer the building would have collapsed on her, killing her too."

"I suppose," Lucy said, looking back at Maria. "I would just assume that if you were able to do magic that was able to float all those people safely down to the ground, you would be able to stop the building from collapsing on the other twelve people too."

Maria shrugged. "I suppose but we can't be sure. We don't know how her magic works. Why are you being so hard on her anyway? I thought you of all people would be celebrating this new real life superhero. You love Wonder Woman and Peggy Carter."

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just not feeling too great today. Could you just reschedule all my meeting for the morning? I have a lot of work to get done and I'm just not feeling up to talking with people right now. Just make sure no one disturbs me until Anne gets here for lunch."

"All right," Maria said, frowning a little bit. "Are you sure that you're okay, Lucy? If you're feeling that bad maybe you should take the day off. Doesn't Tonks get back soon? I'm sure she would be more than happy to look after you."

"No, I'm fine," she said, walking towards her office door. "Besides, I can't miss a full day's of work right now. We have to get the Weldon project finished as soon as possible."

Maria sighed and shook her head before turning back to her computer. "You are so much like your father."

Lucy smiled a little as she walked into her office. She closed the door behind her and walked over to her desk. She sat down in her chair and spun it around to look out of the giant windows behind her desk. She looked across at the tall London high rises and sighed. Smoke from yesterday's fire covered the city, leaving a gloomy smog. The sun was nowhere to be seen. Just a cloudy grey, smokey sky. A whole building was destroyed yesterday. A whole building and twelve people and there was nothing she could do about it now so why did she feel like this still? Why couldn't she shake the feeling that it was her fault? She had moved as quickly as she could. She had stayed till the last possible minute to try and save everyone like Maria had said. She had saved one hundred and ninety eight people. Yet for some reason, she felt like she should have done more. She should have been faster. She should have been stronger. She should have saved those people.

...

Finally it was time for Tonks's interview. She followed Holly's directions down to the office where her meeting was going to be held and waiting in a chair in front of it to be called in. Soon enough the door opened and Lacey walked out. She saw Tonks and gave her a smile and a wave as she walked by. Tonks smiled and waved back. She waited for a second and then the intern from the first day, Aldo, came out and told her to come inside. Tonks stood up, took a deep breath and walked into the room behind Aldo.

The room was quiet small with windows all on one side, looking out at the London highrises. Tonks could see how cloudy and smoky it was out there. The smoke must be from the fire yesterday. She wondered if Lucy had seen the fire. She knew that Lucy had planned on going down to her studio on Sunday and that her studio was near the Westmount building. Tonks would ask her about it later.

In the center of the room was a large table. Amelia Bones, Alastor Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour were sat at one side of the table with files and papers in front of them. Quills and parchment floated behind them, ready to write down everything Tonks said. A single chair stood at the other side for Tonks to take. Aldo moved to the corner of the room, watching Tonks carefully. When she entered all three people stood up and to greet her. She said hello, shook their hands and then sat down across from them. It was a little unnerving to sit facing down three of the most successful people in the whole Wizarding World. Tonks still felt that three on one was a little unfair but she didn't think now was a good time to voice those concerns.

"Miss Tonks," Amelia began, "we are quite impressed with your performance thus far. The final part of the Auror Training Program Application Process is the Interview. This interview should take no more than half an hour and will just give us a better understanding of the person you are and your rationale for actions you may have taken in previous sections. Please answer our questions truthfully and to the best of your abilities."

Tonks nodded. "Of course."

"I will start with a basic question first," she said. "What made you decide that you would like to work in the Auror Office?"

Tonks took a deep breath. She had seen this question coming and had practiced it with both Lucy and Lacey. She could hear Lucy's voice in her head, yes but be more passionate! What does being an Auror mean to you? Everyone is going to talk about helping people and doing stuff for the greater good. You have to make your answer stick out in their minds. Be honest, be real. Tonks thought about what she had planned to say and then decided against it. She had a better idea.

"When I was three years old we were at war with the Death Eaters." She was sure others would talk about the war too but she thought that her experience was her experience and that they would appreciate her story. "My mother is the daughter of a very big Death Eater family so when she married my Muggleborn father it put a very large target on our back. When I was three our house was attacked. Attacked by people we knew. We were all so frightened. I was so frightened. The first people on the scene were Aurors. I watched them go into my house with no regard for their own safety. I watched them fight the Death Eaters with no regard to the risk it posed on them. I watched as they put my and my parent's lives above their own and I have been so grateful ever since. From then on, I watched them fight the war from the safety of Hogwarts. The Aurors protected me when I was a child and now that I am older I want to not only repay that debt but do the same for another family. Another little girl."

Amelia smiled a little and nodded. She wrote something down with her own quil as the ones behind her scribbled furiously. Moody made a low grunting noise that Tonks could not determine good or bad and Scrimgeour did nothing. He just stared at her, stone faced and a little angry looking.

They asked her a few more basic interview questions. Tonks talked about her strengths and weaknesses. She answered questions on the Ministry of Magic and the Auror Office in general. She answered a few scenario type questions as well. Then they asked her some questions about her duel with Lacey. Finally they got to the character and aptitude test from yesterday. It seemed that they finally got to the topic that Scrimgeour wanted to talk about as he finally spoke for the first time this whole interview.

"Can you remind everyone what your mission in the simulation was please, Miss Tonks?"

"To arrest too operatives with outstanding warrants and retrieve a briefcase believed to be filled with stolen goods."

"I believe the wording you were given was to retrieve this briefcase at all costs." He looked over at Amelia and Moody. "I have told you that I believe we are wasting our time. She failed her mission. She did not retrieve the briefcase."

"I think -" Amelia began but was suddenly cut off.

"I saved nine people," Tonks said. All three interviewers looked at her and Tonks's eyes widened. She looked at Amelia apologetically. "I am very sorry, Madam. Bones. I should not have spoken out of turn like that."

"That's alright," she said, though Tonks could see that she was not too pleased by her outburst. Why did Tonks have to be such an idiot? Amelia instead turned back to Scrimgeour. "I believe that there are others things that we can discern from the test even if she did fail her mission."

"Does it matter what else we can discern if she failed her test?"

"She may have failed the mission but did she fail the test?" Moody said. "The test is not solely graded on whether or not the mission was accomplished."

"Everyone else were able to complete the mission," Scrimgeour said with a frown.

"Not everyone had the same circumstances that Miss Tonks did," Amelia said. "The simulation doesn't stay the same for everyone who is in it, Rufus. Which is why we look at other aspects of her simulation." She turned back to Tonks. "You made a lot of mistakes in your simulation. Can you describe something you may have done wrong?"

Tonks sighed and nodded. "When Holly asked me where I would like to put the Invenietor I chose to put it on the perp's body. Looking back now, that was not the best option. If I had put it directly on the briefcase, I would have been able to find Pharos after he grabbed the briefcase and ran away. I should have know that if I took out Vasquez the briefcase could still be picked back up by Pharos."

Moody nodded. "That was a foolish oversight."

"But It is good to see that you caught it on your own," Amelia said. "It shows that you can learn from your mistakes."

Tonks smiled a little.

"She was very Muggle conscious during her simulation," Moody said, looking down at a paper in front of him. "She cast a Muggle repelling charm before attempting to confront the operatives."

"And that memory charm was quick thinking," Amelia said.

"She wouldn't have needed it at all if she had stuck to the mission and went after Pharos instead of running through a Muggle office building," Scrimgeour said angrily.

"If I may," Tonks said.

Amelia gave her a little nod.

"I know that I didn't complete the mission but the fire Pharos set would have killed nine people if I didn't do something. The Muggle firefighters were not going to get there in time. If I hadn't gone in when I did they wouldn't have survived."

"The mission was retrieve the briefcase at all costs," Scrimgeour said.

"I know but I chose human lives over some stolen goods," Tonks said with a frown. She looked at all three of them. "And I would do it again. I would rather save nine people than retrieve one briefcase of stolen goods. That's what I thought Aurors were supposed to do. I thought our duty was to protect the general public. That's what I chose to do. There are definitely things I would change in my simulation but I would still go back and save those nine people."

"Simulated people," he mumbled.

"They didn't feel simulated at the time. They just felt like people. Muggle or Magical, they were still people and I had the ability to save them so I did."

"All right," Moody said. "I think that's our thirty minutes. If either of you have any other questions?"

Amelia smiled a little and shook her head. "No, I'm done."

"As am I," Scrimgeour mumbled.

"Thank you, Miss Tonks," Amelia said, standing up and sticking out her hand for Tonks to shake. "We will be in touch."

Tonks stood up, gave her a smile, and shook her hand. She shook Moody and Scrimgeour's hands too, thanked them for their time and then left the room.

Scrimgeour flopped back on his chair and sighed. "What time was the Westmount fire yesterday? Is there anyway she may have been able to get out of here and go there while it was happening?"

Amelia laughed as she sat down as well, a lot more gracefully than Scrimgeour or Moody. "I don't think Nymphadora Tonks is Enchantress. Just because she values human life doesn't mean she's running around breaking the law."

"Her simulation was at the same time of the fire," Moody said. "There was no way she left the building then. Unless Miss Tonks can be in two places at once, she is not our culprit."

"Really, Rufus," Amelia said with a shake of her head. "You didn't have to be that hard on the girl."

"She was rude and incompetent, Amelia. You can't seriously be considering her," he said with a frown.

"She did have a rude moment but she caught herself and apologized," Amelia said with a shrug. "Though she may not have completed the mission, her reasoning was solid and she proved herself to be in quite control of her situation. She was not incompetent."

"Camouflage was good, Muggle consciousness was good, a few stupid mistakes but nothing that couldn't be ironed out during training," Moody muttered, flipping through his papers. He wrote something down and closed the file before motioning for Aldo. "Bring in the next one. Just two left till lunch, right?"

"Yes," Amelia said with a shake of her head. She closed her file as well and pulled out the next one. "John Dawlish is next."

...

"Asked me not to let anyone disturb her till Anne came for lunch," Maria said. "Said she's very busy. You should maybe just let her be, Raj."

Raj gave Maria a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's different for me, Maria," he said with a flashy smile. "You know that."

"I don't know, Raj. She's not in the best mood today. I think that she may be coming down with something. You should just leave her alone."

"Not going to happen. This is part of being second in command, Maria. You just get to walk into the boss's office without warning."

"I don't think that's true," she said, though she made no move to stop him. "At least let me tell -"

Raj had already opened the door. He gave Maria an apologetic smile before closing the door behind him. She rolled her eyes and shook her head though she smiled too. Maybe Raj would be able to cheer Lucy up. He was usually good at that.

"Hey, Princess," Raj said, looking over at the desk. The chair was turned around, facing the window. Lucy wasn't looking at him. "I heard what happened with the fire yesterday and Min told me you were feeling down about it."

Lucy sighed but didn't move. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting just staring out of this window and she didn't particularly care very much. She knew it wasn't lunchtime yet as Anne still wasn't here and that's all she really cared about.

Raj walked around the desk and leaned back on the windows. He gave her a small smile. "You did good, kid. I know you didn't make it to everyone but you did your best and that's all that matters. You saved so many people."

"My best wasn't good enough, Uncle Raj," she mumbled, not looking at him. She kept staring out the window. "Twelve. Twelve people. I couldn't save twelve people."

He sighed and walked over to her chair. He kneeled down in front of her chair and put a hand on her cheek. "Lucy, I know it's hard. I know that you feel like it's your fault but it's not. It really isn't. You did everything you could. It's not your fault that time's a bitch."

Lucy felt the tears fall down her cheeks and Raj wiped them away. She reached out and took his other hand. "Uncle Raj. I - I tried... I tried so hard."

"I know, love," he said. "I know."

"C-Captain America wouldn't have let that happen or Peggy Carter. Or Dorcas."

Raj shook his head. "No. No, you don't know that. You can't control everything, Lucy. You can't be sure of all the variables. You don't think that during a war Captain America and Peggy Carter did their best and still couldn't save everyone? You don't think that Dorcas Meadowes has ever sat in thinking about the people she didn't get to save? You can try so hard, you can do everything right, and yet something unexpected could still happen. A building collapses, more Death Eaters arrive, a car blows up. You try very hard and things still happen. That's not your fault. I am a hundred percent sure that every one of the people you just named have sat and thought about all the people they didn't get to save."

She sniffed a little and he gave her a little smile.

"I know that nothing I say will make you understand. Nothing I say will bring those people back but I hope that in time you will realize that it's not your fault. I hope it gets easier to let things outside of your control go."

Lucy sighed and gave his hand a little squeeze. He smiled a little and gave her a hug. She hugged him back. When they pulled away he knew that she still didn't feel very great. He realized that there was nothing he could say to make her pain go away. This was something she would need to work through. He hoped that she would soon and get back to her happy energetic self.

...

Tonks smiled a little to herself as she came out of her interview. Amelia seemed to be on her side and Moody seemed to like her as well. Scrimgeour didn't seemed very convinced of her abilities but she hoped that Amelia and Moody could change his mind. She felt like she actually had a pretty good shot of getting into the training program.

Tonks walked back to her dorm room and quickly used magic to pack up all her things. She looked down at her watch and sighed. "Well, Holly, it seems I have to leave you behind. It was great working with you."

 _You did very well during your exam, Miss Tonks. I wish you luck in claiming a position in the Auror Training Program._

"Thanks," Tonks said with a smile. "Hopefully you'll be seeing me again in November."

She took off her watch and set it down on the desk before picking up her bag and walked out of her dorm room. She took the elevator down to the main floor and Flooed from one of the fireplaces there back home.

When Tonks appeared in her living room she smiled. The apartment looked just as it had the morning she had left it. Lucy being the clean freak that she was would have it no other way. Tonks walked out of the fireplace and towards her bedroom. She tossed her bag down on a chair, changed into some more comfortable clothes and climbed into bed. Comfy mattresses, soft pillows, and clean sheets were the best feelings in the world. Tonks was so happy to be home.

...

Lucy's day went by so slowly. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to see Tonks. She just wanted to get away from the talks about the Westmount fire. However, when one desperately wished for time to speed up, it had a tendency to go by at a trudgingly slow pace. The seconds seemed to drag on for minutes and the minutes hours. The clocks seemed to mock her, there hands may as well not have been moving at all. The relativity of time amazed Lucy to no end.

Finally though, the clocks did strike five o'clock and Lucy could finally go home. She packed up her things, said goodbye to Maria and raced out of that building as fast as she could. She walked out into the cold autumn evening and started making her way back home. The smoke filled her lungs and they felt like they were tightening in her chest. She looked around but it didn't look like anyone else was having problems. Why was she having coughing fits while everyone else was fine? What was wrong with her?

She walked her thirty minute walk in only twenty. She walked into her nice, warm apartment. As soon as she was out of the smoke she felt her lungs go back to normal slowly. She walked into her bedroom where she saw Tonks lying asleep on the bed. Lucy smiled a little and put her bag down. She changed out of her business attire and into something a little more comfortable before crawling into her side of the bed. She snuggled into the blankets and close to Tonks, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. Three days was much too long. Lucy had missed Tonks so much.

Tonks opened her eyes and looked down at Lucy sleepily. "Lucy?"

"Hey, babe," Lucy said with a smile. "Welcome home."

Tonks smiled too. "Thanks," she said, turning onto her side and wrapping her arms around Lucy. She leaned down and gave Lucy a kiss. She had been waiting a really long time to do that. "It's good to be back."

"How was your exam?"

"It went well, I think. I'll tell you all about it at dinner."

"If you're too tired, we don't have to go out. We could always go to dinner tomorrow instead. I could cook something nice for tonight."

"No, no, I want to take you out," Tonk said with a smile. "We haven't gone out in a really long time. I want to take you somewhere special."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile, reaching up and putting a hand on Tonks's cheek. She felt a little better now that Tonks was back. She felt less cold in the warmth of her girlfriend's arms. Lucy wanted to stay here forever and forget all about the world outside. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she said. She sighed and let go of Lucy so she could get up. Lucy made a whining noise which made Tonks smile. "Come on, let's get ready to go."

"Fine," Lucy said, getting up too.

They got ready to go, Tonks insisted on wearing dresses and doing makeup. She wanted this to be a real date since it had been so long since they had one. Lucy finished getting ready first, walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch. She was waiting for the cab to get here when she noticed the day's Daily Prophet sitting on the coffee table. Lucy picked it up and looked at the front page.

 **Enchantress Strikes Again**

There was a photo of the people floating down the blazing building. It looked like they were moving in slow motion.

 _Using magic in full view of Muggles, Enchantress saved one hundred and ninety eight people from an apartment fire Sunday afternoon. Twelve people were left behind when the building collapsed, none survived._

Lucy sighed and shook her head.

 _The Ministry is still in search of this woman who is exposing magic on such a grand scale and is offering a one thousand galleon reward to anyone who has information that would lead to her arrest._

Lucy threw the newspaper down and pushed it away from her. She really did not need the reminding that she had let twelve people die.

Tonks walked into the living room and looked over at her with a frown. She noticed that Lucy was very reserved today. She wasn't the same happy and energetic self she usually was. "Hey, are you alright, love?"

Lucy looked up and gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired."

"Are you -"

Lucy's phone buzzed and she looked down at it. She stood up. "Oh, the cabbie is here. Shall we get going?"

"Yeah, let's go," she said, though she wasn't done with this conversation. She would save it for later. Instead Tonks smiled and walked over to Lucy, putting her arms around her waist. Lucy was wearing a simple red dress with lace sleeves. "You look beautiful."

"So do you. This colour really suits you," Lucy said with a smile, looking at Tonks's blue dress. She pulled away and took Tonks's hand instead, pulling her towards the door. "Now, let's not keep the cabbie waiting."

"Alright, fine, but when we get back we'll finish this."

Lucy and Tonks put on their coats and shoes before leaving their apartment and heading down to the cab. Again when they got outside, Lucy started having trouble breathing again because of the smoke. Tonks asked her if she was okay but she said she was fine.

"I think it's just all the smoke from yesterday's fire. Don't you have an inhaler that you could use?"

"That thing's like years old. It's not that bad. You don't have to worry about it."

"I don't know, Lucy, your mum says -"

"She just worries. It's fine."

Tonks gave in and just nodded. She opened the door for her and Lucy got in. Tonks got in after her and told the cab driver the restaurant name. She took Lucy's hand and noticed the cabbie eyeing them in the rearview mirror. She frowned but chose to ignore him, moving closer to her girlfriend instead.

All through the cab ride, Lucy was very quiet. She held Tonks's hand with one of hers and watched the buildings go by out of the window. Tonks was still a little worried about her, not sure what was wrong.

They got to the restaurant and were seated at a nice, secluded table. Lucy started talking a little more, she asked Tonks about her exam and Tonks told her everything.

"... and then she threw a disarming spell but I blocked it so easily and sent one in return...

"... and I finished my run in eleven minutes and twelve seconds which, I mean, isn't my fastest and it's definitely nowhere close to your fasted but it was still enough to get me seven points...

"... and then he set the building on fire and I had to decide if I wanted to go after him and get the briefcase or if I wanted to save the people in the building and I, of course, chose to save the people."

Lucy smiled a little. "That was a good choice, I think."

"I thought so too," Tonks said with a smile. "I was able to evacuate most of the people but nine people were still trapped on the top two floors so I had to run up there and save them. I used a memory charm to make sure that they didn't remember me and I broke them out by bringing a fire escape over from another building in the alleyway behind it so that no one else saw me do magic. It's kind of like what Enchantress did yesterday except that I wasn't so showy with my magic and I saved everybody!"

Lucy had a coughing fit on her wine. Tonks waited for her to calm down a little bit before smiling and saying, "You all right there?"

"Yeah, fine. Sorry," she said, putting her glass down and standing up. "I have to go to the washroom, I'll be right back."

Tonks's smile faded. "Are you sure you're okay, Lucy?" she asked, getting very concerned now. "You've been acting a little weird all day. Are you getting sick?"

"I have been feeling a little under the weather lately," Lucy said, holding onto the excuse. "But it's nothing major, I'm sure. I'll be back in a minute."

Tonks nodded, still frowning. Lucy quickly walked away towards the washroom. She went into the women's restroom and looked at herself in the mirror. God, she was a mess. She clutched the counter tightly and took a couple of deep breathes. "Don't cry. Don't cry," she whispered but tears still filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. "Just breath. Just breath."

Lucy heard the door of the bathroom open and quickly pushed herself off the counter and wiped the tears away from her eyes. The woman looked at her for a second before walking into a stall nearby. Lucy took a few more deep breaths. She washed her hands, used some paper towel to wipe her hands and fix her makeup, and left the washroom. She sniffed a little, made herself smile and walked back towards Tonks.

"Sorry about that," she said, sitting back down. "Ah, what were we talking about?"

"Are you feeling better? Would you rather just go back home?" Tonks asked, looking at Lucy with concern.

"No, no. We're having a nice time," Lucy said, giving a very unconvincing smile. "Right so, after the fourth part of your exam, it was the interview. How did that go?"

Tonks gave her a look but decided against saying anything. She told Lucy about the interview and about how Scrimgeour seemed very weird about the fact that she failed the mission in order to save Muggles instead. Lucy listened, smiling and 'mmhmm'ing at the right times. Tonks slowly forgot about Lucy's odd behaviour and excitedly told her about the rest of her weekend. When she was done she asked Lucy about hers as well.

"Oh, nothing special really. I went with Anne to get her dress and I went down to the studio. That's about it. The wedding's coming up soon, you know. Are you excited?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to go and see all your and Anne's hard work. You two have been planning this for so long."

"I know. I'm excited for the day to finally come but I'm also a little nervous. I want everything to go perfectly for Anne and Mitch."

"I'm sure it will," she said, reaching over and taking her hand. "I'm excited to get all dressed up and dance and see Anne in her wedding dress. Take some pictures."

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

When they finished their food and dessert, they left the restaurant and took a cab back home. Lucy unlocked the door and went inside. While she was taking off her coat and shoes, Tonks came up behind her, spun her around, and pinned her against the wall.

Lucy smiled a little. "What are you do-"

Tonks cut her off by kissing her passionately on the lips. "I've missed doing that," she said, when she pulled away and rested her forehead on Lucy's.

"It's only been three days," Lucy said with a laugh, reaching up and putting her hands on Tonks's cheeks. "But I did miss you a lot too, my love. I've been going through some pretty shitty stuff lately... like at work, and I missed you."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." She leaned up and kissed Tonks back. "I'd rather do this."

Tonks smiled and pulled away. She grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her towards the bedroom. Lucy giggled a little and let herself be dragged over to the bed. She needed this. She really needed to forget about the world for a little bit and just have some fun. Lucy let Tonks push her into bed and pulled her down with her. Tonks pushed some of Lucy's hair out of her face and kissed her again.

"I love you, Lucy Collins."

"I love you too, Nymphadora Tonks."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey! The last day of Auror Exams! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, sorry for the wait. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think so far!


	41. PS -- 6

**Quick Disclaimer:**

Any bolded lines are directly from Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone and not my own words. As much as I would prefer not to take anything straight from the book, I do want my story to stay as close to cannon as possible and so I believe taking a few lines here and there during overlapping scenes adds to the story. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **PS - Chapter 6**

"Oh, hello, darling," Minerva said with a smile when the door of her office opened and Lucy walked in. She was sitting at her desk with Dumbledore sitting across from her.

"Hello, Mum. Hello, Uncle Albus," Lucy said, giving them both a small smile. "I hope I'm not interrupting a meeting."

"No, that is all right, my dear," Dumbledore said, motioning for Lucy to come in. "We were just discussing the events of last night. We had quite an exciting Halloween."

"Oh, did you?" Lucy walked into the office, closing the door behind her, and walked over to the desk. She sat down beside Dumbledore in front of the desk. "What happened?"

"It was during the Halloween feast," Minerva said. "We were eating when suddenly -"

Just then the door opened, cutting Minerva off. They all looked over to see Severus Snape, a tall man with long greasy black hair and a very large nose, standing in the doorway looking very annoyed. Though, Lucy did not think she had ever seen this man looking anything but annoyed.

"Severus, hello," Minerva said, frowning a little. "I do usually ask that people knock before entering my office. As I'm sure I have told you many times before."

"My apologies, Minerva," Snape muttered, not sounding very convincing. "Dumbledore, I've been looking for you. We were supposed to have our meeting now."

"Meeting? I do not recall scheduling a meeting with you for this time, Severus," Dumbledore said. He looked over at Lucy and gave her a smile. "I would, of course, never schedule a meeting over one of Lucy's visits. Especially now that she comes so sparingly."

Snape's frown deepened.

"It's all right if you have to go, Uncle Albus. It sounds quite important," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm sorry I'm not able to come up to Hogwarts more often. Hopefully I'll have more time to come up soon."

"What is this meeting about, Severus?"

"How a troll was able to get into the castle last night."

"A troll got in?" Lucy asked with wide eyes.

Minerva nodded. "That's what I was going to tell you."

"But aren't trolls dead stupid. They can barely figure out how to open a door. How could one possibly get through Hogwarts security?"

"Exactly," Snape said, crossing his arms. "Someone must have let it in."

"And who would do a thing like that?" Minerva asked, furrowing her brow. "Trolls may have limited cognitive abilities but they can still be quite dangerous especially for children who have yet to be trained to deal with them. Who would let a troll into a school?"

"Someone trying to get something they would be willing to kill children for."

Minerva looked over at Dumbledore. "Has anyone -"

Dumbledore shook his head a little. "No one knows of the stone's presence in the school except for us, Pomona, Filius, Quirinus, and Nicolas himself. No one made an attempt at getting the stone during the feast."

"No one that we caught," Snape muttered.

"What exactly happened?" Lucy asked.

Snape took a deep breath and let his arms drop to his side. He stepped further into the office, moving quite awkwardly on his left leg, and closed the door behind him before speaking again.

"Quirrell announced the presence of a troll in the castle and there was pandemonium. Enough to cause a big enough distraction for someone who were to attempt to get the stone."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "As much as I agree that Quirinus's handling of the situation was _very_ poor, I do not believe that he did it on purpose, Severus. I know you have been very suspicious of Quirinus since he arrived here, for reasons I will never understand, but, I mean, look at him. Do you really believe he of all people have the... wherewithal to carry out such a plot?"

"I, unlike you, Minerva, do not buy this - this jumpy, jittery act."

"Well, we were able to calm the students down quite quickly," Dumbledore said, "And I did check on the stone again after you did, Severus, to find nothing out of order. If the troll was part of a plot to obtain the stone, it did not work."

"But does it not make you a little suspicious, Dumbledore?" Snape asked angrily. "We are tasked with protecting this ridiculous object and someone seems to be after it. Things like this, whether it is an attempt at the stone or not, should be taken seriously!"

"I actually agree with Professor Snape," Lucy said, making Snape raise an eyebrow at her. "Even if it wasn't Professor Quirrell, the timing does seem a bit dodgy to me. Maybe it was someone after the stone."

"This situation is being taken seriously," Minerva said. "We are looking into how it was possible this troll could have gotten out into the castle. It nearly killed three students. Of course we're taking this seriously."

Lucy's eyes widened. "What?"

"Miss Granger," Snape muttered, "In all her wisdom, decided to take on a full size troll all on her own and Mr. Potter decided to play the hero. Dragging his dimwitted sidekick alone with him, of course."

"Sidekick?"

"Weasley."

Lucy frowned. "Ron is not a dimwit and he's not Harry's sidekick. He's a very nice boy and you shouldn't talk about him like that."

"And I very much doubt that Hermione Granger actually decided to take on the troll on her own," Minerva said. "She's not stupid. I think she just took the blame for her friends."

"She seems to think she knows everything. I wouldn't put it past her to think herself capable of dealing with a mountain troll on her own."

"Again, she is not stupid and she has proven herself quite the stickler for the rules already. She would not have gone after the troll herself, especially when instructed to go back to her dormitory. I do not know what happened exactly but I do not believe that story."

"Then Potter dragged both of them along."

"No. I do not believe that either."

"It's something James Potter would have done."

"It may have escaped your notice, Severus," Minerva said, lips thinning and nostrils flaring, "that, though Harry may look a lot like James, he is not James."

"Whatever the reason," Dumbledore said, deciding to step in and stop this back and forth, "It is very lucky that they were able to get away safely."

"With basic, rudimentary wand tricks no less," Minerva muttered.

"Yes. We will take this situation very seriously and it will not happen again. We are running an internal investigation now to determine how the troll was able to get so far into the castle and I assure you, Severus, whoever was responsible for this will be held accountable."

"And I assure you, Headmaster, that the person who was responsible for letting the troll in was after the stone," Snape said. "I believe that person was Quirrell and I would appreciate your time in meeting with me now."

Dumbledore sighed but nodded. "Yes, Severus. We can go back to my office then." He stood up and gave Lucy another smile. "I am sorry, Lucy. If I don't see you before you leave, goodbye and have a nice rest of your day."

Lucy smiled. "Thank you, Uncle Albus. I will try to come back up as soon as I can. Hopefully my work will slow down soon and we can continue our monthly chess matches."

"I would very much like that. Will I see you at dinner, Minerva?"

Minerva shook her head. "Not tonight. Lucy and I will be eating in my rooms. I'll see you tomorrow, Albus."

Dumbledore nodded. He said one last goodbye before following Snape out of the office.

When the door closed behind them, Lucy pulled her chair a little closer to the desk and looked back at her mother. "I think Snape is right. I think someone may be after the stone."

"Do you also believe it's Quirinus?" Minerva asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. I don't know much about Professor Quirrell. I haven't had much of a chance to talk to him so I can't say anything about that but you have to admit the timing is a bit suspicious. A big feast where everyone would be in the Great Hall. Something happens that would cause the students to get all excited and busy the teachers trying to calm them all down and get them organized again. It's a good distraction for someone who may want to try to get to the stone."

Minerva sighed. She leaned back in her chair and nodded a bit. "Maybe. It may have been a distraction but it equally could have been a prank gone wrong or something like that as well. Very few people know that the stone is hidden here and of those people, I have a hard time believing any of them would try to steal it."

"That is true. Not many people know that it is the stone that is hidden on the third floor but all of Hogwarts knows that there is something hidden up there. Maybe it wasn't anything malicious as someone trying to live forever. Maybe it was someone stupid trying to figure out what it is that's up there."

"That is a possibility," Minerva said with a nod. "We'll know more after the internal investigation is over and proceed accordingly then."

Lucy nodded.

"So, tell me something happier, love. How was your Halloween? Do anything exciting?"

Lucy sighed and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair as well. "Not really. Anne and Mitch invited us to go to a Halloween party with them but I wasn't really feeling up to it. I told Tonks she could go without me but she didn't want to so we just stayed in and watched scary movies and ate way too much popcorn."

"Oh? But I thought you had been working on your costume all month."

Lucy shrugged.

Minerva sighed. "Why don't we go inside."

Lucy nodded. She pushed herself up to her feet and waiting for Minerva.

Minerva stood up too, pulled the torch behind her desk to open the hidden door into her private quarters, and motioned for Lucy to follow her in. She walked inside and Lucy followed after her. They walked into a sitting room. Minerva walked over and sat down on the couch. She looked over at Lucy, patting the couch beside her. Lucy sighed, walked over, and sat down. She knew what her mother wanted to talk about.

"Who's Hermione Granger?" Lucy asked quickly to try and avoid the inevitable.

"Oh, she's a lovely girl. One of the new first years. She's a Muggleborn and very bright. I think she's already read all of her textbooks before she even got here. Reminds me a lot of someone else."

"Sounds like a total nerd."

Minerva smiled. "The person she reminds me of is also quite a nerd. Very smart. And capable. And very beautiful too."

Lucy didn't say anything.

Minerva sighed. "I've noticed that Enchantress hasn't been spotted since the fire."

Again Lucy didn't respond.

"Darling," Minerva said softy. She put an arm around Lucy and Lucy turned to wrap her arms around her, resting her head on Minerva's chest. Minerva sighed again and ran her fingers through her hair. "I never wanted you to start this Enchantress mess. I wasn't fully onboard."

"I know," Lucy whispered.

"But I don't think that you should stop just because you're worried that you're not strong enough or fast enough to handle this. You've done such great work as Enchantress and I'm so proud of you for that. You saved one hundred and ninety eight people in the Westmount building, not to mention all those other people you saved before then. That's a lot of people."

Lucy didn't look up. She closed her eyes and kept her head down on Minerva's chest. "B-but it wasn't everyone."

"I know, love, but -"

"I l-looked up the - the articles on the fire and s-saw who the people were who - who died." She took a deep breath. "Four adults and eight children. Two of the kids were only three years old."

"Lucy -"

Lucy pulled away a little very quickly and looked up at Minerva finally. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes again but she did her best to stop them. She was so weak. She had cried so much this past week.

" _Ami_ , I did everything. I did everything I was supposed to do. I - I used the Bubble-Head Charm to make sure everyone could breath. I threw water on the fire. I reinforced the beams... with steel! I... I reinforced the beams... I - and the building collapsed anyways! It wasn't supposed to do that... it wasn't supposed to collapse... I reinforced the beams!"

Minerva pulled her close again and Lucy cried into her chest.

"I reinforced the beams."

"I know, my love, I know. It's not your fault. I saw the footage. The beams stayed up. It was the wood around it that fell. That wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done to stop that."

"I - I saved myself," Lucy whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. "Th-there were three people still - still alive when I j-jumped. I - I should have stayed! I should have done more!"

"No. No, Lucy, no. If you didn't jump when you had then you may have been killed too. You did everything you could, darling. Sometimes things happen that are out of your control. You do what you can and you do your best. You can't control everything but you can control how you deal with it. And I've seen you deal with so much and come out the other side again. This will be no different. It just takes some time."

"Uncle - Uncle Raj said that he thought that Peggy Carter and Captain America p-probably both sat and th-thought about all the people they weren't able to save too."

"I'm sure they have. It's not easy but it wasn't their fault and it's not yours either."

"I - I know, like logically, that it's not my fault. I d-didn't start the fire or - or make the building fall but - but it still feels like it's my f-fault. It still feels like I let those p-people die."

Minerva sighed and ran her fingers through Lucy's hair as she sobbed again. Minerva held her as she cried for a little while. When Lucy had finally calmed down a little, she spoke again.

"During the war, Dorcas felt the exact same way after her first mission that ended with casualties. She felt like it was her fault, even though it was not."

Lucy looked up at her mother and Minerva gave her a little smile. She reached up and wiped the tears off Lucy's cheek.

"She said the same things. She did everything she was supposed to do. She fought as hard as she could and she had barely gotten out in time as well. She cried and mourned for those that were lost, just like you're doing. Dorcas would be very proud of what you did, Lucy. Even if you weren't able to save everyone, you saved everyone you could. You made a huge difference in those people's lives and they will be forever grateful for that."

"It's - it's still hard, Mum."

"I know, darling. This type of work is not easy and I think you have to make a choice now. You can continue on with your Enchantress work or you can decide that it's not for you. Both options are respectable and you'll have to decide which is best for you, but I do think I already know which option you'll choose."

"And which one is that?"

Minerva smiled. "The same one Dorcas picked. She got up and she kept going because she knew that there was still more work to be done, still more people left to save. The same things I think you know. The same thing I think you'll do."

"I've never not saved someone before."

"I know."

Lucy didn't respond for a little while. She wiped the tears away from her cheeks and leaned closer to Minerva again. Minerva kissed the top of her head.

"There is still more work to be done," she whispered finally. "Still more people left to save."

Minerva smiled.

"I think I'm going to keep being Enchantress."

"I'm glad."

"I thought you wouldn't be."

"Maybe I'm coming around to Enchantress. She does good work, what can I say."

Lucy smiled. "She tries to."

"I still worry though, my love. I still want you to be safe. Don't do anything stupid, please."

"Of course. When have I ever done anything stupid?"

"Never once," Minerva said with a smile. She kissed Lucy's forehead again. "I love you, Lucy. I want you to stay safe."

"I love you too, Mum. Please don't get eaten by a troll."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "I think I'll be okay."

Lucy smiled.

They sat on the couch talking for a little while longer before finally getting up and getting washed up for dinner. Having dinner with her mother definitely made Lucy feel a little better. Coming up to Hogwarts always made her feel better. She should definitely come up a lot more.

As the days went by, Minerva found more reports in the Daily Prophet and Muggle papers of more Enchantress sightings. She smiled to herself a little as she read an article in the Prophet describing Lucy's latest excursion.

"Enchantress," mumbled Snape from beside her at the Teacher's table in the Great Hall. He was looking at the blurry photograph of a figure standing on the edge of a building. "What an idiotic name."

"It's not the best. I'm sure she's not too thrilled about it either."

"Dubbed by the Muggle news?"

"Yes, I think so."

"And you agree with what she's doing?"

"Helping people? I would think so."

"Breaking international law."

Minerva looked at him. "Well, no, that is not ideal."

"She does magic and she has not been caught by the detection spell. That is quite peculiar."

"Will you now be making theories on who this Enchantress is? Tired of stalking poor Quirinus?"

Snape rolled his eyes. " _Poor_ Quirinus. He really does have all you fooled."

Minerva sighed and folded her newspaper back up. "You've really done a number on him, Severus. He's very afraid of you. Won't even stay in the same room as you if he could avoid it."

"He's scared because he's worried I've figured him out. If he wasn't guilty, why would he be so frightened?"

"Oh Severus, I would be horrified if you started stalking me down the hall and prying into my personal life. I'm not guilty of anything but you have to admit, you are quite frightening sometimes."

"How is it my fault if his... constitution is lacking?"

"You know he gets nervous. You could not try to exacerbate it."

Snape grumbled something Minerva didn't quite catch but she chose not to say anything. Instead she turned back to her paper and smiled a little again as she read about Lucy's continued evasion of the Auror's and Fudge's continued frustration. Snape noticed this.

"You seem quite amused by this woman."

Minerva raised an eyebrow at him. "Your meaning?"

Snape shrugged.

Minerva looked back at the paper and smiled again. "Fudge is not happy. I do find that quite amusing."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Quite petty, Minerva."

"Oh, shut up, Severus. Now off with you. Let me enjoy my breakfast in peace."

Snape stood up. He grabbed Minerva's paper from her hands and walked away. Minerva glared at him and he looked back, giving her a small smirk and daring her to say something.

Minerva rolled her eyes and turned back to her toast. "I am surrounded by children."

...

Lucy slowly got her confidence back yet again. She started acting more and more like herself and Raj and Tonks were very happy. Tonks wished she would talk to her about what had gotten her so down while she was gone but Lucy avoided the topic or gave very uninformative answers whenever she asked. She was glad that Lucy was feeling better, she just wished what exactly was bothering her to begin with.

"Are you excited?" Lucy asked, flopping down on the couch and leaning into Tonks with a bowl of popcorn.

"Hmm? About?" Tonks asked, wrapping her arm around her and grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"The wedding! What else?."

"Oh, right! I completely forgot, I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see Anne in her dress and be able to dance with you on the dancefloor! Oh, we haven't gone dancing in so long, love. I'm sorry I've been so busy."

"That's all right. Maybe we could try to plan at least one night a month that you can take off and we can go out."

"That's a good idea. Until then, I think the wedding will be fun."

"I think so too. You and Anne have worked so hard on this. I can't wait for the stress of it to be off of both of you."

"Oh, yes. They're going to Italy afterwards. Tonks, we should go to Italy."

Tonks smiled. "Oh man, we should. After all that work just preparing for those exams, I'm ready for a break."

"Do you still feel nervous about your results?"

Tonks shrugged. "I was but it's been a while now and I'm trying to just relax and not get to worked up until the fourteenth."

Lucy nodded and took her hand. "I have faith. You will be the greatest Auror this world has ever seen!"

Tonks laughed. "If I become an Auror."

"You will and then I'll brag all about my badass Auror girlfriend to everyone who will listen!"

"I think everyone at your work is going to be so annoyed by me before they even meet me," Tonks said with a smile, leaning down and kissing her cheek.

"Then I'll fire them and hire more people who can appreciate how amazing you are."

Tonks laughed. "All right. Well, I'm pretty sure everyone in the Auror Office already know how amazing you are but if I get a position there, no one will ever stop hearing about you."

Lucy smiled. "Moody will get very annoyed very quickly."

"He's just upset that you turned down the job and didn't come to the exams with me. I wish you could have come. We could have... broken in my Auror room."

Lucy laughed. "Is that the only reason you wanted me to come to your exams?"

"How could they really expect me to stay away from you for three whole days!"

"It's not like we've ever been apart before."

Tonks smiled. "Yes, but I hate it every time we are. Don't go to work anymore. Stay home with me always."

"Oh, I wish."

"Is work what got you so upset before?"

Lucy's smile faded and she sighed. "It's hard sometimes, Tonks. Sometimes... sometimes things happen that are out of your control and I think I have trouble letting go sometimes."

Tonks nodded. "It is hard. Do you feel a little better now?"

"I do. I think things are getting better now. I think I'll be okay now."

"I'm glad. And you know, if it's someone at work who's being an arsehole then you just let me know and I'll come down there and punch a bitch for you."

Lucy smiled. "Of course. I will let you know. I would definitely love to see that."

Tonks smiled. She grabbed the bowl of popcorn in Lucy's lap and set it down on the coffee table. She wrapped her arms around Lucy and pulled her close. "Now come here and let me kiss you."

Lucy laughed and moved up beside her as Tonks laid back. She wrapped her arms around Tonks's neck and kissed her.

"So much for our movie."

Tonks smiled. "This is more interesting."

* * *

 _Saturday, November 7th 2009_

One Whitehall Place was decorated to the nines. White drapes and yellow lights hung from the ceiling and rows of black chairs filled the room. White podiums sat between each row with a vase of white and light pink flowers in them. People in long dresses and fancy updos sat in the chairs waiting excitedly for the bride. An altar was decorated at the front of the hall where Mitchell Bradford stood in a nice black suit. His brown hair was combed to one side and there was huge smile on his face. His hands were clasped together so tightly that they were turning white. His best man gave his shoulder a quick squeeze to help calm him down.

"Lucy and Anne organized all of this," Tonks whispered to Nina sitting beside her. "They did a really good job, huh?"

"They did," Nina said with smile. "Oh, I'm so happy for Anne! I love weddings so much and I haven't gotten a chance to go to one in so long!"

Minerva smiled. "Yes, weddings are lovely and they did a very good job. Did you see Lucy's dress?"

Tonks laughed. "The lightest colour I think she's ever worn. I could barely believe it when she changed into it earlier today when she was getting ready. She had to come here so early to make sure everything was being set up properly."

"I'll bet Anne picked that colour just so Lucy would have to wear it," Nina said, shaking her head and smiling. "She knows the power she has on her special day and she's taking full advantage of it."

"Of course," Minerva said. "I commend Anne for doing the impossible."

Tonks smiled. She was so excited for the ceremony to be over so she would finally get a chance to dance with her girlfriend. It had been a while since they had gotten a chance to go out dancing with Lucy so busy with work and planning this wedding. They'd have fun at this wedding and then hopefully when it was over they would get more time together.

Music started playing and the bridesmaids and ushers started walking down the aisle and taking their places by the alter. Tonks waited eagerly and finally Lucy walked out alone, holding a bouquet of roses. She looked beautiful in her light pink dress. Her hair was half up and half down and her makeup looked wonderful. Lucy caught Tonks's eyes and gave her a smile as she walked down the aisle. Tonks gave her a quick thumbs up, making her smile even more.

Lucy got to the front and took her spot at the altar before looking back. The ringer bearer walked in, followed by the flower girl, and finally Anne. It felt like magic filled the air the moment Anne walked into the room with her arm in her father's. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was down in elegant curls covered slightly by a white veil. Her white wedding dress was sleeveless with a lace bodice that went into a flowy skirt. Edward Bradford had a huge smile on his face and tears in his eyes as he gave his daughter away. Anne gave him a hug before stepping up to the altar. She handed Lucy her bouquet and took Mitch's hands in hers.

The ceremony began and all throughout it Lucy couldn't stop smiling. Anne and Mitch had written their own vows and they were beautiful. Lucy couldn't help but tearing up herself at some points.

"Anne Linwood, I have loved you from the moment I met you and I promise to keep loving you unconditionally for the rest of my days. You put one hundred percent of yourself in everything you do and your strength and intelligence inspire me..."

"Mitchell Bradford, you are the kindest man I have ever met. I love the way you make me feel just by walking into the room and the way your laugh makes my heart skip a beat. I promise to love you and cherish you for the rest of my life..."

The ceremony continued and finally the officiant said, "Do you Mitchell Bradford accept Anne Linwood to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Mitch looked at Anne with all the love in the world. His eyes were watering a little bit but he was still smiling. "I do."

"Do you Anne Linwood accept Mitchell Bradford to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Anne said.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the officiant said. "You may kiss the bride."

Mitch put his hands on Anne's cheeks, pulled her close and kissing her lips. After the kiss the procession walked back out of the room. The guests were moved over to the tables for dinner. They ate dinner and soon people were up dancing.

Lucy hurried over to the table where Minerva, Nina and Tonks were sitting, grabbed Tonks, and pulled her up to the dancefloor with her as well. Tonks laughed and danced with her girlfriend. They danced as upbeat music played and soon Lucy pulled Nina up with them as well. She tried to get Minerva up as well but Minerva refused.

"Have fun, love. I'm fine," Minerva said, giving Lucy a smile. She was honestly ready to leave but she didn't want to interrupt Nina's fun.

"Fine but I will come back later and I will get you to dance."

"I would suggest you not waste your time."

Lucy smiled. "It won't be a waste once you're on the dancefloor."

Minerva smiled and shook her head. "Go dance, love. You deserve a nice break."

Lucy hurried back to the dancefloor and pulled Tonks over to dance with her.

Soon a slow song started to play and Lucy and Tonks were swaying with their arms around each other. Nina decided it was time for her to go and walked back over to Minerva. She smiled and sat down.

She had only been sitting for a few seconds when she heard, "Hi, do you want to dance?"

Nina looked over to see a young man standing in front of her with his hand extended. She gave him a polite smile. "No, thank you. I'm not one for slow dancing. Sorry."

The man sighed but nodded, walking away.

Minerva smiled. "So popular, Nina."

Nina looked over at the dancefloor and sighed. "I miss Daniel."

Minerva sighed. "I know, love." She reached out and took Nina's hand. "It's always hard when he's gone."

Nina sighed and nodded. "Shall we get going then? I think Tonks and Lucy will probably be here for a while until Mitch and Anne leave as well."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, we can go. I'll just let Lucy and Tonks know and say one last congratulations to Anne and Mitch first."

Nina nodded.

They both got up and got ready to leave. Lucy and Tonks said goodbye to both Nina and Minerva before going back to slow dancing together.

"This is really nice. I definitely needed this," Lucy whispered in Tonks's ear as she rested her head on her shoulder.

"Me too," Tonks said with a smile. "This is really nice."

* * *

 _Sunday, November 8th 2009_

Lucy hummed happily to herself as she flipped through her magazine. She was still feeling elated from the wedding last night. Lucy was in a very good mood. She had talked to Anne, who was very happy in Italy, this morning and was now lounging on a couch in the Hogwarts staffroom waiting for her mother.

The door opened suddenly and Lucy looked up. It was not Minerva. Instead Snape walked into the staffroom making Lucy's smile faltered a little bit. She still hated being alone with him. It always made her feel like she was still a child, scared of the towering, perpetually angry man.

"Oh, hello, Professor Snape."

"Collins," Snape muttered as he limped to the couches and tossed a book onto the table.

Lucy looked down and saw that it was Quidditch Through the Ages. She looked down at his legs. He was avoiding putting too much weight on his left foot. "What happened to your leg?"

Before he could respond, the door of the staffroom opened again and in walked Filch, the Caretaker. As if one greasy man wasn't enough. Filch didn't like Lucy very much and she didn't like he very much either. He was holding up a roll of bandages as he walked briskly over to Snape.

"Here are the bandages you asked for, Professor Snape."

Snape put his foot up on the table and moved his robes up around the knee to reveal a wad of bloody bandages. Lucy's eyes widened as she watched him take the bandages off to reveal a huge gash on his leg. She quickly sat up properly and moved things aside so he wouldn't get blood on them.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Bloody Cerberus on the third floor," Snape grumbled. "Get me something to clean this!"

Lucy stood up, raced to the kitchenette and grabbed some towels. She wet them and brought them back to Snape. He grabbed one and started wiping his leg quite violently. He winced with every wipe and Lucy shook her head.

"Stop." She snatched the towel back and leaned down to do it herself much more gently. "You're going to make it worse that way."

He glared at her as she cleaned the blood off his leg but didn't say anything. The wound looked quite fresh and was bleeding a lot.

"How did this happen? Why were you up in the third floor?"

"Stopping Quirrell from getting in there!"

"Quirrell?"

"I've told you. I've told all of you. He's the one who let the troll in. I know he did. He went up there and I went to stop him."

"Wait, you're still talking about Halloween? This happened last week and it still looks like this?"

"Hasn't healed a bit," Flinch grumbled.

"Cerberus salvia makes magic useless," Snape muttered. "Once it wears off the injury will start to heal itself or magic can be used to close it."

"So, you think Quirrell let in the troll and went up," Lucy said.

"Yes! Aren't you listening?"

"But why? Why would he want -" she stopped and eyed Filch for a second - "whatever is up there? Why would he be after it?"

Snape doesn't respond. He reached down and grabbed the towel from her. He snatched the bandages from Filch, tossed the bloody cloth into his hands, and started unrolling them. Filch made a face down at the towel. He reached down and started wrapping up his leg again. He winced suddenly and growled.

"Aurgh! **Blasted thing! How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

Lucy moved back a bit and crossed her arms as she watched him roughly bandage himself. "Well, I suppose that's the point."

Snape shot her a glare.

"They were thought to guard the gates of the Underworld after all. Dogs of Hades himself and all that."

"Are you quite -" Suddenly Snape looked behind Lucy at the door. **"POTTER!"**

Lucy looked back and saw Harry's head poking in through the door watching them.

 **Harry gulped. "I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

 **"GET OUT! OUT!"**

Harry closed the door quickly and Snape grumbled about annoying, thickheaded children as he turned back to his leg. Lucy looked down at the book that Snape had thrown on the table earlier. She picked it up.

"Is this Harry's?"

Snape nodded as he continued to talk about how much like James, Harry was. Filch was agreeing with him as he ranted.

"They're all the same," he muttered as Lucy turned and made her way towards the door without them really noticing or caring. "All the idiot students. They're much to interested in themselves to realize there are others around them."

 _Didn't they make a great pair?_ Lucy thought to herself with a shake of her head. She walked out of the staffroom and sped up to catch up with Harry a few corridors over.

"Harry!"

Harry looked back with wide eyes and a horrified expression. His concern faded away when he saw it was only Lucy. He gave her a small smile as she walked over. "Oh, hey, Lucy."

Lucy held up the book she had taken from Snape. "Were you looking for this?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you," Harry said, taking the book from her. He looked down at it for a second before looking back up at her with a worried look on his face. "Ah, sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have opened the door. I was knocking but I guess you guys didn't hear me. I just wanted my book back. Especially for tonight and all."

"That's all right. Don't worry too much about Snape. He can be really scary sometimes. I mean, he scares me a little still too, but he's not going to do anything to you."

"Right... ah, well, what happened to his leg? It looked quite bad."

Lucy shrugged. "Something about the the third floor. You're not supposed to go up there. That's why."

"Why'd Snape go up there then?"

"Oh, he goes up there all the time. Someone has to go check up on things and make sure everything's all right. Make sure there aren't any bodies of students to toss out into the lake or something."

Harry's eyes widened.

Lucy smiled. "I'm joking. I don't think anyone's actually died at Hogwarts since like my mum was in school. So, that was a very long time ago."

"Oh." Harry thought for a second before taking a breath and asked, "Do you know what they're keeping up there, Lucy?"

"I don't actually. It happens from time to time. Hogwarts houses a lot of old magical objects that would be unsafe elsewhere. They mostly aren't anything too crazy."

"Then why would this one have so much protection around it?"

"I'm not sure. It could just be that the previous owner had some extra protection that he wanted around his object. I'm sure soon they'll find a better place for this object and it'll be moved again."

"Hmm..."

"Well, you should probably get going. Your match is soon, isn't it? You should get ready."

Harry nodded. He was a little disappointed that Lucy wasn't going to give her any real information. He wasn't quite sure how much he believed that she didn't know what was actually up on the third floor. She was Minerva McGonagall's daughter after all.

"All right. Thank you for coming out to see my first match. You really didn't have to do that."

Lucy smiled. "Of course I would come out. I said that I would, didn't I? Besides, I've heard that you give Charlie Weasley a run for his money and I really want to see for myself so I can more accurately make fun of Charlie."

Harry laughed. "Okay. Still, thanks. I don't think my aunt and uncle would come all this way just to watch one of my Quidditch matches."

"Really? Why not? I love going out to Quidditch games. They're so fun. You know, Britain's set to host the Quidditch World Cup for the first time in thirty years, I think my mum said, in a couple years. Mum and I are planning on going."

"Wow, really? I didn't know Professor McGonagall was such a big Quidditch fan."

"Oh, yeah, she loves Quidditch. She was a chaser on the Gryffindor team when she was in school. She's really excited to see you play too. She has a lot of hope that with you on the team, they'll finally give Slytherin a run for their money."

Harry smiled. "Well, I'll try my best."

"Of course. I'll see you soon, Harry."

"Bye, Lucy!"

Lucy turned and headed back towards the staffroom where Filch and Snape were still ranting about nosey students. She looked at the bandages on Snape's leg and sighed. As she walked back to the couch she had been sitting on before, she said, "Those are much too tight. You're going to cut off blood circulation to your foot."

Snape glared at her but leaned down to fix his bandages.

Lucy picked up her magazine and flopped down on the couch again, trying her best to ignore them as they kept grumbling angrily. Once he finished bandaging up his leg, Snape left the staffroom, thankfully taking Filch with him. Lucy watched them go over the top of her magazine before rolling her eyes and kicking her legs up on the coffee table. It seemed that there was never a quiet day at Hogwarts.

The door opened again eventually but this time it was Minerva who walked in. She smiled at Lucy as she walked over to the couch. "Hello, my darling. Sorry, I'm late. How are you doing?"

"Hello, Mum," Lucy said, kicking her legs off the couch and sitting up properly. She set her magazine down on the coffee table. "That's okay. I'm doing all right. Though it has been quite an eventful day just sitting here in the staffroom waiting for you."

Minerva sat down on the couch beside. "Oh, has it?"

"Oh yes. Professor Snape managed to get his leg sliced up by Fluffy on the third floor and was in here changing his bandages very angrily."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "You know what, I'm starting to think he deserves it. He's been absolutely insufferable lately and is completely terrifying Quirinus. As if we weren't already worried that he wouldn't make it through the year."

"It's hard to have to work in an environment where people single you out for no reason. I know that."

Minerva sighed and looked back at her. "Work's still hard?"

Lucy shrugged. "It's getting a bit better. Engineering's still acting up. Harrold doesn't want to listen to me and he's quite angry that I've made him hire women."

"Oh, how dare you."

"I know. It's an absolute atrocity."

Minerva smiled. "Well, hopefully it will get better soon, love. I know it's tough but I believe you can get through it and prove yourself to these people."

Lucy nodded a little.

"Shall we go down to the pitch?"

Lucy nodded again and they stood up. They walked out of the staffroom and through the hallways out toward the Quidditch pitch. Lucy could felt the excitement through the halls as they walked by students also going out to the pitch. Quidditch days where always some of the most exciting days at Hogwarts. Floods of red and green filled the halls as students came out to support their chosen teams.

"So, you bought Harry a Nimbus Two Thousand," Lucy said, sitting down on the bench beside Minerva when they finally made it up to the teacher's booth.

"Yes, well, he needed a broom."

"And of course, she had to buy him the best broom on the market," Sprout said with a smile. She was sitting on Lucy's other side. "A bit unfair, I must say. She is stacking her team."

"I am not," Minerva said, sending Sprout a look. "A broom does not make the player, Pomona. A great broom in the hands of a poor flier is no advantage to anyone. If this broom gives Potter any advantage, it is because he is a skilled flier and understands how to use it to his advantage."

"Mmhmm."

"May I just say," Lucy piped up, "I was never bought a broom."

Sprout laughed and Minerva gave her a look.

"I would have loved to buy you a broom but you never asked for one. The only time you ever fly is at your Nani's house during family Quidditch games."

"Maybe I would have flown more if I had a broom."

Minerva smiled. She looked over at Sprout. "Though, she is a natural. A chaser. Always a chaser, just like her mother. I swear, Pomona, if I had had both her and Charlie Weasley on my team I would have had that cup sitting in my office all of the last previous six years."

"Then maybe my mother would have loved me," Lucy mumbled.

"And bought you a broom," Sprout said with a laugh.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous."

"You really did break her heart when you chose not to come to Hogwarts, didn't you, Lucy?" Sprout said.

"Apparently. The first in a long line of disappointments, I'm sure."

"Don't say that. I'm not disappointed in anything you've done," Minerva said with a frown. "Would I have liked for you to come to Hogwarts and follow in your mother's footsteps? Of course. That doesn't mean that I'm not proud of you for getting into Oxford, darling."

Lucy smiled. "I know, Mum. Don't worry."

Just then Lee Jordan, a young thirteen year old boy with long dreadlocks and dark skin, hurried over in front of them and into the commentary booth beside Minerva. "Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Lucy! Hey! How are you guys?"

"Jordan," Minerva said. "We are all right. We'll try to keep it clean this year, won't we?"

Lee smiled innocently. "Of course, Professor. Wouldn't want to jeopardize my position as commentator for next year."

Lucy smiled. "Hello, Lee. How was your summer?"

"It was good! It was good! Hey, did you hear that they announced who would be hosting the next World Cup?"

"Yes, I did! It's quite exciting."

"Britain's not hosted the World Cup in thirty years," Sprout said. "It is very exciting."

"Will you be going, Professor?" Lee asked.

"We'll see," Sprout said. "It's still three years away."

"We're going to go," Lucy said with a smile. "Mum promised. We always go. We went to the finals in Argentina the summer before the last and Belgium four years before that."

"Oh, wow, that's awesome," Lee said. "I wish my parents were as big fans of Quidditch as you are, Professor. They wouldn't take me down all the way to Belgium or Argentina just for Quidditch. Hopefully I'll be able to go to one of the matches here in Britain though."

"It's nice it falls in the summer so we can all actually go," Minerva said. "Though now we'll have to see if Lucy will be able to take time off work now."

Lucy smiled. "I'm definitely getting off work for that. Did you see Harry's Nimbus, Lee? Thought you might be excited about that."

"I haven't seen it yet but I am! It'll be awesome to see how well that broom flies! Harry made a good choice for his first broom."

Minerva smiled and Sprout grumbled a little.

Lucy laughed. She heard cheers and looked out on at the pitch to see the teams starting to walk out into the middle of the pitch, Gryffindor dressed in scarlet robes and Slytherin in green. Madam Hooch was waiting for them. She had Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor team captain, and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team captain, shake hands. Every mounted their brooms and, with a blow on Hooch's whistle, the teams were off.

 **"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too -"**

 **"JORDAN!"**

 **"Sorry, Professor,"** Lee said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled and shook her head. "I don't understand why you like watching games so much, Mum. It seems you spend more time controlling Lee than actually watching the match."

"I don't understand why you've kept him after last year," Sprout said with a smile.

Lee put his hand over the microphone and leaned away from it to say, "She loves my charm and my extraordinary wit!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Get back to commentating, Jordan."

Lee smiled and turned back to the game. He continued to commentate as the quidditch players flew quickly through the air. Lucy smiled as she watched the Gryffindor seekers, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, fly across the field towards the Slytherin's end.

"Alicia Spinnet is quite the flier," she said. "Haven't seen her fly before."

"She's new," Minerva said. "Made the team this year. She's a lovely girl and has improved immensely over the summer. Last year she was only a reserve."

"Flint's improved too. He flies a lot smoother than he did last year.'

"I think he's learned to be a little lighter on his broom," Sprout said.

Lucy watched Flint intercept a pass from Angelina towards Katie and move quickly through the field. He covered the ground the girls had quickly.

"Still doesn't like to pass though it seems."

Flint made it to the other end of the pitch and was about to score when Oliver came racing up to catch the Quaffle before it went through the middle ring. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor side of the stands. Gryffindor was back in control of the Quaffle. They played back and forth for a little while, the beaters getting involved every so often. Katie got hit in the back of the head by a bludger sent her by one of the Slytherin beaters. Either Fred or George Weasley, sent another back hitting Pucey, one of the Slytherin chasers.

Finally Angelina got her hands on the quaffle and Gryffindor advanced across the pitch. Angelina took a shot and -

 **"GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"** Lee cried into the mic, barely audible over the cheers of Gryffindor fans around the pitch.

"I'm liking how this is going already," Minerva said happily.

"As much as I do not want Severus to win again this year," Sprout muttered, "I am starting to think that Minerva winning will be worse. I am very conflicted on who to cheer for."

Lucy smiled. "It's a shame Tonks isn't here. She would understand."

"How is Miss Tonks doing?"

"Oh, she's good. She had her Auror exams and now we're just waiting on the results. She very much appreciates the reference letter you wrote her. Thank you, Professor."

Sprout smiled. "Of course. I think she would make a wonderful Auror."

They turned their attention back to the match as they continued yet again. The snitch was spotted once but it seemed to be evading both seekers so far. Flint fouled and Katie scored another goal on the penalty. The game continued and Slytherin scored a goal as well.

"Um," Lucy said suddenly, "Something seems to be wrong with Harry's broom."

"What?" Minerva asked with a frown. She looked up and around quickly until she found Harry zigzagging through the air as if his broom was trying to buck him off. Her eyes widened. "What!"

Fred and George flew over quickly and tried to grab him but anytime they got too close, Harry's broom zoomed up higher into the air. They abandoned that plan and circled under him instead so they could grab him if he dropped.

"What is going on?" Sprout asked.

"I have no idea," Minerva said. She looked around quickly. "Where is Rolanda? She should be stopping the match. Something's wrong."

Flint scored another five goals while no one was paying attention. Everyone was too busy worrying about what was going on with Harry's broom. The broom bucked and jerked violently. Harry could barely hold on. Everyone gasped suddenly as he was finally knocked over, hanging in the air by one hand still gripping the broom. It continued to jerk and vibrate to try and throw him off completely.

Suddenly there was a yelp from behind them. Quirrell was pushed over and Snape was up stomping on his robes. Lucy's eyes widened. "What's happened?"

"Fire," Professor Flitwick who had been sitting beside Snape squeaked as he got up and moved away from Snape. He pulled out his wand and conjured a jet of water to put out the fire on Snape's robes before it could spread.

"Where - how..." Minerva had no idea what to say.

Snape looked around quickly, checking under the bleachers but finding nothing. "I have no idea! Where the f-"

"Look, Potter's broom is fine now!" Sprout said.

They all turned back to see Harry pulling himself back up onto his now calm broom. Then suddenly he was flying directly down towards the ground at great speeds. Minerva let out a little shriek and grabbed Lucy's arm when he flew past them. Lucy winced and moved closer to the edge of the stands to watch him go.

Harry clapped his hand over his mouth suddenly and pulled up quickly before he hit the ground at full speed. He stumbled, fell off his broom, and hit the ground on all fours. He coughed and sputtered a little before finally a small gold ball fell out of his mouth. He grabbed it and waved it over his head excitedly.

"It's... it's over?" Sprout asked.

"He's got the snitch," Lucy said.

Minerva let Lucy's arm go and leaned over the edge of the stands to get a better look.

"HARRY POTTER'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Lee bellowed, still excited despite all the confusion. "GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Minerva flopped back down on her seat and ran her fingers through her hair quickly, a look of pure confusion on her face. "I - I don't understand."

"I think your team's won, Mum."

Gryffindor was cheering, Marcus Flint was shouting about fouls and cheating, Lee was still shouting about Gryffindor's victory, and Snape was inspecting the damage on his cloak. Minerva sat utterly confused through all of this.

"Well, that was an interesting match," Lucy said, sitting back down beside her mother and giving her a smile. "Congratulations."

Minerva looked over at her. "Have I bought a defective broom?"

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe it's okay that you never bought me a broom."

Minerva gave her a shove and got back up, leaving the teacher's bleachers quickly. Lucy smiled and hurried after her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hello, hello. I realize I have made you all wait a very long time for this update and I am very sorry. School's just been super busy so I didn't have very much time to write. I hope you like this chapter and I hope that I can make more regular updates from now on. Thank you so much for reading and please leave me a comment telling me what you think!


	42. PS -- 7

**PS - Chapter 7**

 _Saturday, November 14th 2009_

"It says a third of a cup of cocoa and half a cup of flour," said Tonks, reading off a brownie recipe in a book her mother had given her. She was sitting on the kitchen counter munching on chocolate chips while Lucy did all the work.

Lucy gave her a look as she picked up the cocoa powder. She picked up a measuring cup and threw a third of a cup of cocoa powder into the bowl. "When you suggested we make brownies, I did assume that you would help me do that a little bit more than this."

"I am helping. I'm reading you the directions. How would you know how to make good brownies if it wasn't for me?"

"It's not like I couldn't read the directions myself."

"No. Honestly, Lucy, you would be completely lost without me. I don't know how you possibly survived for as long as you did before I showed up."

Lucy smiled. "I have no idea, Tonks."

"And besides, I'm definitely going to help you clean up afterwards. I would be more than will to clean the bowl for you."

Lucy shook her head. She walked over to the counter and snatched the bag of chocolate chips away from her. "You're eating these and then you're going to lick the bowl and then you're going to eat brownies. That is a lot, Tonks."

Tonks smiled and tried to get the bag back from Lucy but she held them out of her reach. "Let me live, Lucy!"

Lucy laughed. She stepped back and pointed back at the bowl on the other counter. "Mix. Or no brownies for you."

"Fine," Tonks said, pushing herself off the counter and walking over to start mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Lucy pulled herself up on the counter Tonks had been sitting on and started eating chocolate chips too. Tonks looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What? I can't live too?"

Tonks laughed. "So, what else do you want to do today?"

Lucy shrugged. "Eat brownies, lay on the couch, watch movies and get fat?"

"That, my dear girlfriend, sounds like an excellent plan."

Just then a tapping sound came from the living room. Lucy looked over and saw an owl sitting on the window sill. She smiled and hopped off the counter, walking towards the window.

"Looks like a Ministry owl. What's today again?"

Tonks gasped and put down whisk she was using to mix the brownie batter. She hurried over towards Lucy. "The fourteenth! It's the fourteenth!"

Lucy opened the window. "Hello!"

The owl hopped inside and gave a little hoot. Lucy smiled, took the letter from the owl's beak, and gave it a little pat. The owl ruffled its feathers and gave an indignant hoot. Lucy turned the letter over and saw the Ministry and Auror Office insignias on the thick envelope.

"It's your exam results!"

Tonks snatched the letter from her and looked down at it with wide eyes. "My... my results. In this envelope is my future..."

"Dramatic but yes."

Tonks didn't move. She just kept staring at the envelope.

"Are you going to open it?"

Tonks quickly turned the envelope around and pushed it towards her. She looked away and closed her eyes tightly. "You open it. I can't look!"

Lucy shook her head and pushed the envelope back to her. "No, Tonks. You have to do it. It's going to be okay. No matter what's inside there, it's going to be okay."

Tonks looked back and took a deep breath. She pulled the letter back to her and ripped it open. She pulled out the bundle of papers, unfolded it, and read the letter on the first page. The bundle looked satisfyingly thick.

Lucy watched her a little nervously as her eyes scanned the page. Her face was unreadable. Finally Tonks looked up at her with wide eyes.

"What? What is it?"

"I - I..." Tonks couldn't speak yet. She turned the letter over and shoved it in Lucy's face.

Lucy frowned and took it.

 _Dear Miss Nymphadora Tonks,_

 _The results of your Auror Training Program Entry Exams;_

 _Part One: Written Exam - 1589 out of a possible 1600_

 _Part Two: Combat Dueling - 14 out of a possible 16_

 _Part Three: Physical Exam - 34 out of a possible 35_

 _Part Four: Character and Aptitude Test - Minimal Pass_

 _After careful examination of your results, applications, and references, we are pleased to invite you into the Auror Training Program. You will join two others of your group at the Ministry of Magic on Monday, November Twenty Third._

 _The program will last three years and if your work is satisfactory you will receive full Auror status. Please find enclosed more information on the Auror Training Program, what will be required of you, and salary and benefits._

 _Please sign the enclosed copy of this letter and return it to Director Alastor Moody of the Auror Office by the Friday, November Twentieth to indicate your acceptance of this offer. We are confident that you will be able to make significant contributions to our department and look forward to working with you._

 _Yours Most Sincere,_

 _Amelia S. Bones_

 _Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

A huge smile appeared on Lucy's face. "You did it, Tonks! You got the job!"

Lucy pulled Tonks into a hug. Tonks laughed and hugged her back. Happy tears filled her eyes. She had wanted this so much for so long but it never felt this close. It never felt this real. She felt Lucy kiss her cheek but Tonks was having none of that. She pulled her closer and kissed Lucy's lips instead. Lucy smiled into the kiss.

When they finally pulled away, Tonks said, "I - I can't believe I actually did it! I - I'm got in! I'm in the Aurors!"

"Congratulations, my darling," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you! This makes you the youngest Auror to be hired in ten years!"

"Thank you," Tonks said with a laughed. "Oh man, I'm so happy." She pulled away a little and started going through the other papers that came out of the envelope. "I - I have to get this back to them as quickly as possible and go through these papers and call my mum and -"

"Breath. You need to breath."

"Right, right. Okay, I'm going to send this back and then I'm going to Floo my parents and tell them and then you can help me look through these contracts and stuff because I think you'll have an easier time understanding all of this than I will."

Lucy smiled. "I'll help you. Talk to your parents first and I'll finish our brownies."

"Okay, thank you!" Tonks leaned over and kissed her cheek before hurrying towards the bedroom in search of a pen.

Tonks was so happy and it made Lucy very happy too. Tonks had worked so hard and it was great to see that all that hard work had paid off. Lucy was so glad that Tonks had gotten her dream job. Her having a job now meant that Lucy could start dancing again. She had missed ballet when she stopped going to the studio to help Tonks train and prepare for her exams instead. Being able to go back to the studio once her exams were over was nice and Lucy was glad she could continue. Tonks also meant that Lucy would have to wait a little longer to tell Tonks about Enchantress though. She still wasn't sure how Tonks would react to her breaking international law and now that she was an Auror, it made everything more complicated. Lucy would have to wait.

Lucy sighed and shook her head. She walked back towards the kitchen to finish making the brownies, which had now become celebration brownies, and call Minerva and Nina to tell what had just happened.

The twenty third of November came around in a flash. Tonks could barely remember anything that had happened after she had gotten the news. There was something about brownies, celebrations with her and Lucy's families, and a lot of very happy makeout sessions on the couch.

On the morning of the twenty third, Tonks woke up early and got dressed. She apparated with Lucy to Collins Enterprises, Lucy wished her good luck on her first day and she apparated to the Ministry. Walking through the halls now, she felt a lot more confident. Her head was up a little higher and she felt a lot more sure of herself as she walked through crowds of Ministry workers towards the Auror Office. She felt like she belonged here.

Tonks was so happy. She was going to be an Auror. She was going to help people. She was going to use her magic for the greater good!

And she was finally going to be making her own money. She could finally pay for rent and buy Lucy nice things and take her out to nice restaurants all the time. She was finally going to be a real adult! It was very exciting. She felt like she had been stuck on the edge of adulthood for a very long time and now she was finally taking the plunge. Head first.

Tonks made it to the Auror building and walked towards the main office. She wasn't quite sure where she was meant to be going but she saw the familiar faces of Lacey Washington and John Dawlish also waiting there. They must be the other two people accepted into the program. Three people was the most that they had ever taken in one exam period before in years. Lacey looked up and smiled when she saw her. Tonks waved and walked over to her.

"You made it too!" Lacey said with a smile. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, I'm so happy! I'm so glad we both made it," Tonks said excitedly, happy that she wasn't going to be thrown into this all alone. Lacey would probably help her through anything that she didn't really know. "It'll be so much fun to work together."

"Yeah! It'll be great! I'm really excited!"

Dawlish rolled his eyes and ignored them, standing with his arms crossed in front of him and staring straight ahead. He was actually serious about being an Auror. Unlike like these children.

Eventually the door opened and in walked Alastor Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour. Moody looked them over for a moment before saying, "Welcome to the first day of yer training. Before we begin there will be some documents and contracts that yeh will need to sign with Madam Bones. From there you will be given yer locker, yer watch, and yer Auror cloak. We do not have a uniform yeh must wear but yeh are expected to dress in business casual clothing that would blend in if yeh are forced to go out into the Muggle World.

"Yeh will be placed in pairs and will be mentored by Deputy Director Scrimgeour, myself, or another seasoned Auror. Dawlish, yeh will be paired with Phillis Darbie. He is in his second year of the program and his partner has just dropped out of the program. Tonks, Washington, yeh two will be paired together. Deputy Scrimgeour will lead yeh to Madam Bones's office to fill in yer paperwork. I will see yeh all soon."

With that he left the room and Scrimgeour motioned for them to follow him. Lacey looked and Tonks and smiled. "We're partners!"

Tonks smiled too. She was very glad that she had been paired with someone she knew wouldn't underestimate her because of her age.

One by one, they made their ways into Amelia's office to sign their papers. Amelia congratulated Tonks with a smile when it was her turn. Tonks thanked her, signed her contracts, and was led out to the change rooms by an intern. She gave Tonks the key to her locker, number two hundred and three, in the women's change room. Tonks opened the locker to find a cloak sitting inside with the black, hand- and numberless watch sitting on top of it.

Tonks smiled and picked it up, putting it on around her wrist. "Hello, Holly. It's been a while."

Hello, Miss Tonks. Congratulations on your placement into the Auror Training Program.

"Thank you."

She closed her locker and walked out to where Dawlish and Scrimgeour were waiting. Lacey walked out a little while later and they were taken to the fourth floor where all the Auror offices and desks were. The room was large and rectangular with large wooden desk in rows throughout it. Offices lined the perimeter of the room. Moody's was the largest of the offices in the far right corner and Scrimgeour's was next to it. They were given desks and Dawlish met his partner, a tall skinny man with dark hair and lanky arms. He was built in almost the exact opposite as Dawlish. They were given their first files and set to work.

"Miss Tonks, you and Miss Washington will be assigned to the Enchantress case," Scrimgeour said, throwing a stack of blue files on Tonks's desk. He motioned Lacey over and she pulled up her chair. "Your goal is to find out who she is, arrest her and bring her in so she may face the consequences of exposing magic on the level she has. In here -" he motioned to the files - "is all the information we have on this woman. Read it over and try to narrow down her most active areas and come up with a strategy to find her. If I find your strategy satisfactory you will implement it. I expect your strategy on my desk within two weeks."

Tonks and Lacey nodded and said their "yes sir"s before picking up a file each and getting to work. When Scrimgeour was out of earshot, Lacey turned to Tonks with a huge smile on her face.

"Can you believe it! We got one of the biggest profile cases in the whole Auror Office! This case is going to get media coverage and we're going to be the Aurors that brought down the Enchantress!"

"I know!" Tonks said with a smile. "I can't believe they gave us such a huge case just to start off. I guess that it is just a magic in front of muggles case but it's so big and publicized now. I would have thought they would want more seasoned Aurors."

Lacey smiled. "I can't wait to find out who this witch is."

"Me neither. I have so many questions to ask her! I can't wait to get a chance to actually talk to her!"

Lacey agreed and the two of them got to work.

The files contained mostly newspaper clippings from both Muggle and Magical news organizations. There were evening clippings of ridiculous articles from the Quibbler, an absurd magazine that had gone as far as to claim Enchantress may be Amelia Bones herself. Tonks and Lacey's job was to go through all these clippings, even the sensational tabloid ones, and highlight any information that could be useful. Enchantress was a huge story that had been reported everywhere so they had a lot to work with.

Most of the day was spent reading and highlighting news articles. Tonks did get to meet some other Aurors. She got to talk with people around an actual water cooler and learn about office drama and rumours. She did encounter some people who seemed to scoff at her for her age or her pink hair or her clumsiness - she may or may not have knocked over someone's desk plant and picture frame by accident - but for the most part everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Tonks felt like a real Auror already.

When Tonks finally got home after a long day of work, she found Lucy sitting at the kitchen table with dinner ready and the table set. Candles were lit, champagne was out, and Lucy was wearing a very nice dress.

Tonks smiled as she took off her coat and shoes. "What is all this?"

"I'm embracing the 1950s housewife look." Lucy walked over to and modeled her dress a little bit. "How do I look?"

"Like a million bucks," Tonks said with a laugh. She pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

Lucy smiled. When they pulled away, she took Tonk's hand and pulled her towards the table. "Come, I've cooked us a nice dinner to celebrate your first day of work! Come sit, my dear husband. Put your feet up, I'll do everything for you like a good little wife."

Tonks laughed. "Wow, I could get used to this." She gave Lucy another kiss on the cheek before sitting down at the table. "It smells amazing, my dear wife."

Lucy poured Tonks and herself some champagne before sitting down herself. "Hopefully it tastes good too."

They started filling their plates and eating dinner. As they did, Lucy said, "Now, tell me all about your day! First day of being an Auror, how was it?"

"Not an Auror per se. More like an Auror-in-training."

"Basically and Auror. I know you'll get full Auror status soon enough too."

Tonks smiled. "Well, I had a very great day, actually. I was given a partner and my first case and you're not going to believe the case I got! Oh, and my partner is Lacey Washington, as well. I don't know if you remember me telling you about her."

"The one you beat during your duel? She made it too?"

"Yes, she did. She's a good dueler even if she lost to me. She made it quite difficult. I think we were pretty well matched and so the duel was great at highlighting just how good we both are."

"That's good. What is this case then? Dark objects? Drugs? Neo-Death Eaters? All of the above?"

Tonks laughed. "I think those kind of cases go to higher up Aurors. No, technically my case is not that great. It's just a magic in front of Muggles case but it's probably the highest profile case in the Auror Office right now!"

Lucy's eyes widened. "Enchantress? Your first case is Enchantress?"

"Yes! Can you believe it?"

"No! I - I can't believe you're on the Enchantress case." Not good. This was definitely not good.

"I know! This case is huge! Lacey and some of the other Aurors I met today were saying that we could get on the news! On our first case too!"

"That's... that's insane," Lucy said, eyes still wide. Of course Tonks would be given the job of finding and arresting her. It just made sense. Lucy had never had very good luck. This made sense. "So, how are you going to catch her? She's been quite good at avoiding the Aurors so far."

"I know. It will be difficult, I'm sure," Tonks said with a mouthful of potatoes. "We don't know exactly what we're going to do yet. We're just in the research phase so far. We have two weeks to come up with an idea. We have to get a proposal on Scrimgeour's desk in that time. I hope he likes whatever we come up with. He seems like he'd be pretty hard to please."

"I'm sure he'll like your plan," Lucy said, giving her a small smile. "I can't wait to hear what you guys come up with."

"I don't think I'm technically supposed to tell you what we plan to do but I don't think you're going to run off and tell Enchantress."

"Of course not."

"I'll let you know what we come up with. Have you read the articles about her? She's done a lot. It's a little sad that we have to find and stop her. She seems to be saving a lot of people and doing a lot of good."

"She is. Do you have to stop her? I mean, what's the harm in letting her do what she's doing? Especially if it means that people's lives are saved in the process?"

"As much as I would like not to, she is still breaking the law. I think what she's doing is really cool but she should know better than doing magic in front of Muggles. We can't have them finding out about us, you know. It's for our own good." She smiled a little. "We don't want to be burnt at the stake, now do we?"

"Hmm... well, I've already told you I'd like to be burned at the stake after I die. One of my mum's pointy hats and all, of course."

Tonks smiled. "I don't think you'd like it very much if you were alive during the process."

"Maybe not." Lucy sighed. She definitely couldn't tell Tonks that she was Enchantress yet. Tonks didn't understand what Lucy was trying to do. Lucy wasn't sure how Tonks would react. It was best to just keep it hidden for now. "I still like her."

"I know you do. She's your type."

Lucy smiled a little. "Is she?"

"Yes, I think so. You like strong, independent women." She smiled and pointed to herself. "Exhibit A."

Lucy laughed. "Uh huh."

"Anyways, there is something that's not so great about this job though."

"Oh?"

Tonks looked up at her and sighed. "I have to start working nights. Apparently this happens to all new recruits. They get the shifts that the other seasoned Aurors don't want. We all have to work night, starting at eight p.m. and ending at six a.m.."

"That's awful! We'll never see each other. I work from nine to five."

"I know," Tonks said sadly. "I'm sorry. It's just for the first year or two. Then I'll be back to working at normal hours hopefully. All the new Aurors have to work crazy shifts."

Lucy sighed. "Well, at least we'll still have the weekends."

"Yes, we will!" Tonks was glad that Lucy was taking this so well. She reached over and took her hand. "We'll still see each other. I'll see you in the in morning when I get home before you leave for work and when you come back home before I leave."

Lucy nodded. "We can eat breakfast and dinner together. My breakfast will be your dinner and my dinner will be your breakfast though."

Tonks smiled. "But we'll make it work."

Lucy gave her a smile too. "We will. It'll be okay."

"And then we'll have the weekends to do whatever we'd like. I'd probably still sleep in a bit but you could go to the studio and then by the time you get back, I'll probably be awake."

Lucy nodded. "We'll make it work. Maybe I don't have to go into the studio every weekend too."

"Really? Are you sure, Lucy? I don't want you to give up on dance just for me."

"I'm not giving it up. I'll just cut back a bit so that we can have more time together. I would much rather spend time with you then be at the studio. Maybe I'll find some time to dance during my lunch break or something. I'm not giving it up, it's just not my top priority. You are."

Tonks smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze. "Thank you, Lucy. You're the best."

"I know. Now, how about some dessert?"

* * *

 _Thursday, November 26th 2009_

"It's not going to be any fun without you. You know how much I hate these kinds of events."

Tonks smiled. She finished lacing up her boots and straightened up. She looked over at Lucy who was sitting on the stool in front of her vanity finishing her makeup. "I know, my love. I'm sorry. You know that if I could have, I would have come to the party with you but I just couldn't get the night off. Everyone's going to be away because of the election. Moody, Scrimgeour, Amelia. There was no way they were going to give me the night off."

Lucy turned on her stool and made a pouty face at her. "I know. I know. But I still don't have to like it. Look at you, sending your girlfriend into a room full of snooty Ministry higher ups and snobby benefactors all alone with no protection!"

Tonks laughed. "I am so so sorry. Please forgive me."

She turned back to the mirror. "I'll think about it."

Tonks smiled and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around Lucy's shoulders. She leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Please?"

"Fine," Lucy said. She smiled and looked up at Tonks's reflection in the mirror. She put her hand on Tonks's arm. "You know, with this stupid election, I've worn more dresses in the last few months than I probably have in my whole life."

"I know that you hate wearing these things but you do always look very hot in them."

"You're such a flatterer."

Tonks smiled. "Well, at least, your mum and Amelia and Raj will be there too. So, you won't be all alone."

"Yeah... I guess... but I'll miss you."

Tonks kissed her again. "I'll miss you too."

"I wish you could have come. It would have been a good opportunity for you to meet some very important people in the Ministry. I know you'd probably hate playing politics as much as I do but it does help a lot to know these people, you know. I mean the only reason we donate to candidates is so they remember us when we need something."

"What do you need?"

"I don't know yet. I guess we'll see. I just want people to start knowing you too. It'll make it easier to move up in the Auror Office."

"Well, I thought I'd make it up through my own merit. Not by schmoozing a bunch of politicians and rich people."

"Of course but it just helps to know people, you know. I mean, Aunt Amelia is amazing at her job but she wouldn't have gotten her appointment to head of the department if she didn't know the Minister. You can only go so far on your own, you know. Eventually you need a little help getting you the rest of the way. That's okay."

"I suppose. Do you think I could make it to head of the department?"

"Oh definitely," Lucy said with a smile.

"I thought that you didn't want anything to do with politics."

"I didn't but I can't escape it! It's after me!"

Tonks laughed. "I hope you survive."

Lucy sighed. "Me too."

She picked up her makeup brush and continued doing her makeup. Tonks moved back so she wasn't restricting her anymore. She moved over and leaned back on the vanity, watching her.

"Maybe I can come over for a visit after the party. I could bring some food and you could introduce me to your Auror friends."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Tonks said, a little uncertainly. She had still yet to tell Lacey that Lucy Collins was her girlfriend and she wasn't looking forward to the two of them meeting. "We're going to be super swamped today because of the election. I might not be able to just take a break whenever."

"Oh, right. That makes sense. Well, how about I text you when I'm about to leave the party and you can see what you can do. Maybe your supervisor will be nice and let you take a break then."

"Alright, I'll try."

"If not, we don't have any plans this Saturday, right? You can see if your partner and her boyfriend want to come over for dinner. I would like to meet her. She sounds great from what I've heard from you."

"I'll ask."

Lucy smiled. "We'll cook a nice dinner and have an adult dinner party!"

"I'll see if they're free."

Lucy put her brush down and got up. She turned around. "So, how do I look?"

Tonks smiled and pushed herself off the vanity. "Beautiful as always. That dress is amazing."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile, looking down at the shimmery black dress. It looked like a starry night sky, twinkling and everything. There were stars and planets and even the occasional shooting star. "Mum bought it for me last time she was in Edinburgh. Their Gladrags Wizardwear outlet is much better stocked than the one in Hogsmeade."

"Well, Edinburgh is a lot bigger than Hogsmeade." Tonks checked her watch. "Alright, I should head out and you should get going to your party. Have a nice time, darling. I'll see you soon."

Tonks leaned down and kissed her lips. Lucy smiled. When they pulled away, she said, "Have a good day at work, darling. Go kick some ass."

Tonks laughed and said goodbye before pulling out her wand and Apparating away. When she was gone Lucy picked up her own coat and put it on before Apparating as well. She heard the music and the partygoers as she walked up the steps to the hall. She checked her coat and walked through the crowds of very fancily dressed people. All of the candidates biggest donors and all the politicians that gave their endorsements were here. The hall was decorated lavishly with tapestries and floating candles and balloons. There was a stage with a podium and a banner with the Ministry's insignia hanging behind it.

Lucy picked up a glass of champagne from a tray a server who was walking by was holding and walked through the crowds. There were a lot of people here, trying to slip all their accomplishments into every conversation and laughing at very unfunny jokes. She slipped between people who paid her very little attention. Finally she spotted her mother standing off the side near the open bar.

"Of course I'd find you here," Lucy said with a smile, motioning to the bar with her champagne flute.

Minerva gave her a look and shook her head before saying, "And hello to you too, my darling. You look very nice today."

"Thank you. You do as well. I'm actually surprised you came. Last I heard you were trying very hard to get out of it."

"Oh, why wouldn't I come to support the candidate I donated campaign funds too? So much campaign funds..."

Lucy laughed.

Minerva looked back. "Where is Albus? I am going to need something much stronger than champaign to get through tonight."

"Have you ever thought you may -"

"Don't." Minerva sighed and shook her head. She looked back at Lucy and gave her a small smile. "So, Tonks didn't come with you?"

"No, couldn't get the night off unfortunately. I told her that I might come down for a visit after the party but she said that she might be busy. Apparently it's super swamped at the Auror Office today."

"I wouldn't be surprised. This election season has been quite ridiculous. I don't know what get into people."

"Don't know but my girlfriend's out there keeping them in line. I told her I'd text her. Hopefully she can get her break at that time and then I can visit. I haven't met her Auror partner yet but Tonks seems to really like her."

"Lacey Washington, correct?"

"Yes, that's her."

"Amelia told me about her. She told me that Tonks is getting along quite well in the Auror Office. All three of the new recruits are."

"I'm glad she thinks so. Tonks will be very happy to hear that."

"Well, hello, my dear!"

Lucy turned and saw Dumbledore walking towards them. She smiled. "Hey, Uncle Albus. How are you?"

"I am good, thank you for asking." He held out a glass towards Minerva. "Here you are, Minerva."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said with a smile, accepting the glass from him. "Took a lot longer than I thought it would."

"A lot of people wanted me to stay and chat. I chose to come back to you, however."

"How generous of you."

"How's your year been, Uncle Albus?" Lucy asked.

"It's been going well."

"No more trolls in dungeons?"

"No, thankfully we have had a lack of trolls in the dungeon since Halloween," he said with a smile. "How are things at Collins Enterprises?"

"Eh, it's okay,"

"Getting better?"

"Potentially. Hopefully. I don't know. It's hard sometimes. There are still a lot of annoying people who don't think that any part of me can do business. I'm trying though. I'll prove them wrong. Uncle Raj says it just takes time."

Dumbledore gave her a smile. "You will prove them wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll excel in this field like you have in all others."

Lucy smiled. "Thank you, Uncle Albus."

"Those idiots may be idiots but they'll be playing a different tune soon, I'm sure," Minerva said with a smile, putting her hand on Lucy's arm. "They'll see just how amazing you are."

"Yeah, hopefully."

Just then Amelia and Raj saw them through the crowd and walked over to them. Minerva, Lucy and Dumbledore noticed them coming over. Minerva saw that Raj was smiling.

"You seem too happy to be here, Raj," she said, giving him a look.

"Hello, everyone," he said. "How are you?"

"We're good, Raj," Albus said. "How are you?"

"Good, good," Raj said, walking over to Lucy and giving her a one armed hug. "Hello, Princess."

"Hey, Uncle Raj," Lucy said with a smile, hugging him back.

"You look lovely today, love," Amelia said with a smile. "That dress is beautiful."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile.

"Her mother bought it for her," Minerva said.

"Her mother has good taste," Amelia said. "Sometimes."

Minerva gave her a look and Amelia just laughed. They all talked for a while, sipping their drinks and waiting for word on the election. Soon Dumbledore was pulled away by a group of governors, wanting to discuss something or another about Hogwarts. Amelia was the second to be pulled away. She was dragged into a conversation about the Wizengamot's latest case by some other members.

"And then there were three," Raj said with a smile as he picked up three new glasses of champagne from a waiter walking by and handed them out to Lucy and Minerva. "Seems it always ends with just the three of us, huh?"

Minerva smiled as she took her glass from him. "Well, if I had to pick two people to be trapped with..." she paused, "I suppose one of you would be in that list."

"I'm flattered, Min, but Lucy's your daughter! I insist you give her my space."

Minerva rolled her eyes and Lucy laughed. "So generous of you, Uncle Raj, but what makes you so sure that I want to be on that list?"

"Neither of you are on my list anymore," Minerva muttered. "You may leave me be. I will be much happier that way anyways."

"Oh, don't be hurt, Minerva," Raj said. "I, of course, cherish every minute I get to spend in your magnificent presence but we mustn't. I love Amelia too much to hurt her in that way. And with you! Her best friend!"

Minerva rolled her eyes and gave him a shove, making him laugh. "You are horrible," she mumbled. "As if I don't find the idea of the two of us absolutely repulsive."

"Ah!" Raj said in mock hurt, putting his free hand over his heart. "Repulsive? Us? Really?"

"You guys really need to get a room," Lucy mumbled, looking around for some sort of escape but finding nothing.

Minerva gave her a look. "You are such a -"

"Ah, Minerva," a sickly sweet voice said from behind her.

Pure hatred filled Minerva immediately. She forced herself to smile before turning around and looking at the short witch standing in front of her. The woman had short brown curly hair with a childish black bow pinned in it. She looked remarkably like a large toad with a large, flabby face and very little neck stuffed in a bright pink dress.

"Dolores," Minerva said diplomatically. "How are you?"

"Oh, I can't complain," she said with a little giggle. She looked at Raj and Lucy. "Mr. Patil. How are you? Where is Amelia tonight?"

"Oh, she's around here somewhere," Raj mumbled, looking around to see if he could spot her in the crowd. He didn't seem too pleased to be talking to this woman either.

There was a pause. Lucy felt very awkward suddenly. She wondered what this woman had done to make both Minerva and Raj dislike her so much. It didn't seem like either of them wanted to talk to her and it didn't really seem like she wanted to talk to them either. Lucy wondered why the woman had walked over in the first place.

The pause became too long and Lucy could not handle it. She quickly stuck out her hand towards the woman and said, "Ah, hi. Lucy Collins. It's nice to meet you."

The woman looked her up and down for a second before finally shaking her hand. "Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. Are you a friend of Raj here?"

"No," Minerva muttered, frowning now. She knew for a fact that Umbridge knew that her daughter was named Lucy Collins. She had talked about Lucy with Zelda and Fudge in her presence many times before. "Lucy is my daughter."

"Your daughter? Really? Wonderful!" She looked over at Lucy and continued in an all too sugar voice that made Lucy uncomfortable. "You must understand my confusion, my dear. You really do not look a thing like your mother."

"Really? I've always been told - oh." Lucy stopped suddenly when she realized what Umbridge thought made her look so different from her mother. Her polite smile faded away and she wasn't sure what to say. "I - well..."

Minerva furrowed her brows at Umbridge. She was about to say something when Raj cut her off, saving her from saying something very inappropriate for the setting they were in.

"I think," he said quickly, "That Lucy looks a lot like Minerva. They definitely have the same nose."

Lucy reached up and felt her nose with a little smile. She looked at her mother who was still glaring at the toad witch and gave her a reassuring smile. Minerva sighed but didn't say anything, which was probably for the best.

"Hmm, I don't see it," Umbridge mumbled with a shrug. "Anyways, you did donate quite a bit to our campaign, didn't you, Miss Collins? We appreciate it, of course, but I wonder if maybe it would have made more sense for Minerva to just donate her money under her own name."

"I - no, I didn't use Mum's money," Lucy said quickly. "I donated my own money. I work as the CEO for Collins Enterprises, a company my father created when he was twenty. We make electric cars which wouldn't require gas tackle other climate change issues."

"Collins Enterprises, oh yes. This is the company that Raj works for too, correct? I was under the impression that it was a Muggle organization."

"It is, yes. My father was a Muggle."

"Oh, a shame."

Lucy's frown deepened. "I don't think so. My father -"

"No, no, I do not mean that it is a shame that your father was a Muggle. It is a shame you chose to work in the Muggle world. I do recall Minerva going on and on about her daughter's magical prowess. Now you've chosen to leave us and work in the Muggle world. Makes me question how much what Minerva said is true."

"I assure you, Dolores," Minerva said, "Everything I have said about Lucy's magical abilities is true. Lucy's magic has always been very advanced and she can do it without a wand. She was more advanced than most seventh years by the time she was even eleven and she received perfect scores on all her O.W.L.s. There is no doubt in my mind that she could have gotten any job she may have wanted."

Lucy smiled a little. "Thank you, Mum." She looked back at Umbridge. "I chose to work in the Muggle world like my father because I believe I can make a real difference there but that doesn't mean that I've left the Magical world. It will always be my world too and I want to be involved with in it."

"Which is why you're here," Raj said with a smile. "We're here to support our candidate. Lucy was sent her own invitation because of how much she donated to Minister Fudge's campaign."

"Hmm, right," Umbridge muttered. "Well, we shall see, I suppose. I don't know very many Magicals who have chosen to work in the Muggle world so this shall be interesting."

Lucy didn't respond. She looked down at her champagne glass.

Raj was about to say something when Amelia walked back over. She smiled at them before noticing Umbridge. Her smile faltered but then came back full force. "Oh, hello, Dolores."

"Amelia, how are you?" Umbridge said.

"I'm well, thank you. How are you? Excited for campaign season to be over?"

"Oh, no, no. I actually very much enjoy campaign season. It is always a shame when it comes to an end, isn't it?"

Lucy laughed a little and Umbridge looked over at her. She raised an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"

"No, not really," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm not a big fan myself but I suppose campaign season is always more for the politicians than it is for everyone else."

"I agree," Minerva said. "No one enjoys campaign season as much as the politicians do."

"I don't agree," Umbridge muttered. "If there was no campaign season, how would the people learn about our platforms and make the right decisions on election day?"

"We are by no means implying that campaign season is not important," Minerva said. "Just that it is not exactly our cup of tea."

"Well, I would say that -"

Suddenly a voice rang through the hall, cutting Umbridge off. "The polls have now closed and votes are in the process of being counted. Election results shall be available shortly."

"Oh, excellent," Amelia said with a smile. The perfect excuse to abandon this conversation. "The results will be announced soon. Shall we move closer to the stage?"

"Yes, let's," Minerva said quickly, seizing the excuse like a lifeline. "I would like to find Albus again as well. I'm not sure where that man had gotten off to. Coming, darling?"

"Yes, of course. I'm coming. It was nice meeting you, Madam Umbridge. Good luck."

Before Umbridge could say anything else, Lucy hurried after her mother to find Dumbledore, dress billowing behind her as she went.

Raj smiled a little and took Amelia's hand. "We should get going as well, my love. It was nice seeing you again, Dolores. Good luck with the election."

"Oh, I doubt we will need luck, Mr. Patil," Umbridge said with a little giggle. "I should get going as well. Don't want to keep the returning Minister waiting. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, Amelia."

"Goodbye, Dolores," Amelia said. She waited for Umbridge to walk out of earshot before frowning and rolling her eyes. "Horrible woman. Tried to convince Cornelius not to keep me as Head of Law."

"Did she? Why?"

"Who knows why that woman does anything she does. I have no idea why Cornelius keeps her. He's the only one who seems to actually enjoy talking to her. I don't think Zelda likes her either."

"Well, I doubt she managed to convince Fudge of anything. No one in the world could run the Law Department better than you. I have no idea who Fudge could possibly appoint over you."

Amelia smiled. "I'm glad you think so. I suppose we'll see tomorrow. If he wins."

"I suppose we will. We should go. Don't want to keep Minerva and Lucy waiting."

Amelia nodded.

They walked around the hall a little until they finally found Minerva, Lucy and Dumbledore standing off to one side. Amelia smiled at Lucy as she and Raj walked over. "So you've met our resident toad. What do you think?"

"Resident toad?" Lucy laughed. "She's kind of awful, isn't she?"

"She is," Minerva muttered, grabbing another glass of champagne from the tray of a waiter walking by. "Awful, horrible, infuriating toad."

Dumbledore laughed. "Come now, Minerva. Let's play nice."

Minerva gave him a look. "You are always just conveniently busy with something else whenever she comes around, aren't you, Albus?"

"I am sorry I was not there to protect you from our dear Undersecretary."

"Mum, it's okay," Lucy said with a small smile. "She was rude but it's not like we haven't dealt with people like that before. At least she didn't ask if I was adopted."

"I'm glad that's where we've set the bar."

Lucy sighed but didn't say anything. She looked over at Amelia and Raj instead.

"Well, she may be a horribly infuriating person," Raj said, "But she's gone now. The election results will be announced soon, I'm sure, and then we can leave. I doubt we'll have to stay very long after that. We could go out and get some late night food."

"That would be fun but I told Tonks I would text her after I get off. If she's not able to get a break, I'd be down to go out for food but if she can, I think I'll go down to the Ministry so I can meet some of her co-workers."

Raj nodded. "Well, you're welcome to come if she can't."

They talked for a little while longer until the same loud voice echoed through the hall again. "With all polls reporting we are now prepared to announce the election results. I politely ask all candidates to take their places on the stage."

"Oh finally," Minerva muttered as everyone began walking closer to the stage. "Nights like these always seems to drag on, don't they?"

They moved closer to the stage as every candidate took their place in line behind the podium. Cornelius Fudge stood up with his same luscious blond locks and wide smile among the group. Lucy didn't trust grown men with blond hair.

This election cycle saw only two very serious candidates unfortunately. Fudge and Abraham Lister, a very tall, thin man with an impressive bushy beard, were the only two reasonable choices. A slew of other, far more senseless and idiotic (as if that were possible), stood on either side of Fudge and Lister.

A very short, tiny witch with thick glasses, short brown hair and flowing black robes sweep onto the stage. She was older than old. Her face sagged and her lines had lines. Lucy watched her wobble to the podium and wondered if maybe someone should help her.

The woman made it to the podium where she stepped up on a stool in order to look over it. Her body shook and she gripped the side of the wooden podium tightly to balance herself as she stepped up. Finally she looked at the crowd over her thick glasses and spoke. Despite her frail, tiny body, her voice boomed and rang through the hall.

"The votes have now been counted for the election of Minister for Magic of the British Wizarding Community on this Thursday, the twenty sixth of November twenty, 2009. I, Agornia Strewblink, being the acting returning officer at the election of Minister for Magic, do hereby give notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidates at the said election is as follows..."

Lucy found that this was quite similar to Muggle elections. She looked over at her mother, leaning a little closer, and whispered, "Mum, I just thought of something. Is the Ministry for Magic a branch of the regular Muggle government or its own separate entity?"

Minerva smiled. "It amazes me that this question has not come up sooner and that I neglected to truly teach you how interconnected these two worlds are."

"It seems we both missed that one."

"Yes. Well, the Ministry is a branch of the Muggle government though very few people in the Muggle government have knowledge of it. The Prime Minister would, of course, and I'm sure his deputy and chief of staff as well but other than that I do not know for sure. This information is quite heavily guarded and spells are cast to prevent any government official from revealing our existence whenever they have a bit too much to drink. The Minister for Magic will have one on one meetings with the Prime Minister from time to time but this is very rarely. The Ministry is a very independent branch of the government."

Lucy nodded. She wondered if Fudge had ever discussed Enchantress with the current Muggle Prime Minister. She wondered if the Prime Minister also believed that she needed to be stopped.

Madam Agornia Stewblink listed the candidates by name and party, followed by the number of votes they had received.

"Oh man, there was a warlocks for communism party?" Lucy asked a bit too loudly for Minerva's liking. "I should have voted for them!"

"Hush!" Minerva said, looking around quickly.

Raj laughed. "You're not a communist, Lucy. You're the CEO of a major company. You can't be."

"I am though... I love dad-"

"If you say it, I will kill you," Minerva muttered.

Lucy looked over at her and put her hand over her heart. "Mother, what do you have against Daddy Marx?"

Minerva closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Amelia laughed. "Hush, love. People may overhear and think you're serious. We can't have you ruining your mother's reputation, now do we?"

"Well, if that's all it takes..."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Hush. Listen to the results and then we can go home."

Lucy smiled and looked back at the stage. She listened to the old witch list more names and more votes counts. Finally she reached the end of her list and said, "The total number of ballot papers rejected is as follows; voting for more candidates than the voter was entitled to..."

Lucy sighed. "Must they always do this. We know the winner now. Can she not just declare it and be done with?"

"Hush."

"... the turn out was eighty three point two percent and I do hereby declare that the said Cornelius Oswald Fudge is duly elected to serve another term as Minister for Magic for the British Wizarding Community."

Applause roared through the hall and cameras flashed as Fudge smiled brightly and shook hands with all of the candidates next to him on the stage before coming up to the podium. Madam Stewblink stepped down from her stool and moved off the stage, step stool disappearing as she went. Fudge waved out at the crowd as he approached the podium.

"Thank you! Thank you all," he bellowed happily. "I would first like to Madam Agoria Stewblink as always for the efficient and stress free way this election was run. I would then like to thank my lovely, lovely, wife, Zelda Fudge for standing by my side always and supporting me through every step of this journey. Finally I would like to thank the wonderful British Magical Community for granting me another four years to serve you all. It is an enormous honour to represent such an amazing community as this, best in the world, I always say, and I promise that I will continue to represent the Magical people of Britain to the best of my abilities. I am honoured and humbled by the trust this community has put in me through the years. I am proud of everything this community has done, everything we have accomplished so far and everything we will do in the next coming four years."

The crowd clapped loudly, making Fudge smile even more. Lucy looked back at the others behind him and wondered why they kept such a cruel system of election announcements. Why not let the losers walk off the stage with the announcer? Why make them stand and force smiles while their competition gave their victory speech?

"Before I go and let you all return to enjoying the party, I would like to make an promise. I did make this promise on the campaign trail but I would like to remind you all of it. For the past three months, our community has been plagued by a certain witch, hellbent on destroying our way of life and expose our world to the Muggles."

"Well, that seems a little harsh," Lucy whispered. "Destroying our way of life?"

"Our Aurors have been working hard to find this witch and bring her to justice and I shall do everything in my power to assist them. I promise you by my inauguration in January, this Enchantress will be caught, tried and brought to justice."

More applause sounded throughout the room and Lucy looked around nervously. It seemed everyone was on board with this. Everyone seemed to hate her.

Fudge was saying more things about Enchantress and everyone clapped and cheered him on. Lucy didn't like it. She moved closer to her mother and whispered, "I - I'm going to the restroom."

Minerva nodded a little before turning her attention back to the stage.

Lucy hurried out of the crowd and handed her champagne glass to a waiter. She moved quickly towards the end of the hall and turned the corner quickly, colliding into another person.

"Ouf!"

Lucy looked up and saw the woman she had bumped into was very pretty. She was tall and thin with hair so blond it was almost silver. Her face was thin, almost severe, and her eyes were very light blue.

"I'm so sorry, Ma'am. I wasn't -"

"It's all right," the woman muttered, straightening up and fixing her dress. She looked down her nose at Lucy. "You are McGonagall's daughter, yes?"

"I am, yes."

"Hmm..."

Lucy waited for her to saw something else and when she didn't, she spoke. "Um, well, sorry again. I'll just -"

"Narcissa? You've missed the whole speech now."

Lucy turned around to see a man walking towards them. He looked almost bored. His hair matched his wife's. It was long and came down to his shoulders. He held a black lacquered walking stick with an ornate silver snake head handle.

"I'm sorry, Lucius, darling," Narcissa said. "There was a little..." She looked Lucy up and down again, "Hold up."

Lucius Malfoy saw Lucy and stopped. A small smile that didn't reach his eyes appeared on his face. "Ah, Lucy Collins, yes? Minerva McGonagall's daughter."

"Yes, yes, I'm Lucy Collins, sir," Lucy said quickly. She wasn't sure what exactly made her call this man 'sir' but it had felt like the right thing to do.

"Lucius Malfoy. I am one of the directors on the Hogwarts board of directors. I work quite closely with your mother."

"Oh, right, yes. I have heard of you, Mr. Malfoy," Lucy said. Nothing very good ever but she had heard some very loud complaining about Lucius Malfoy. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Yes. Well, shall we get going, Narcissa? The speech is over and Cornelius and Zelda will be returning shortly. I wish to speak with him before we leave."

"Yes, Lucius," Narcissa said, walking around Lucy and taking his outstretched arm. "Let's go."

Lucy watched them walk away and frowned. She took a deep breath and looked back out towards the stage. Everyone had moved away now, the stage was empty. People were drinking champagne, laughing and talking and celebrating with one another.

She walked away from the restrooms and found her family off to the side. She grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her away a little. Minerva looked at her questioningly but followed.

"Mum, does everyone hate me?"

Minerva frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... well, I knew that Fudge doesn't like me and that the Prophet doesn't like me either but does everyone else in the Wizarding World hate me too? I thought maybe, you know, they would come around when they saw the good I was doing. I'm - I'm saving people, aren't I?"

Minerva sighed. She looked around quickly and spotted someone standing close by. "We shall discuss this elsewhere."

Lucy looked around and saw Narcissa Malfoy again, standing nearby and probably listening in. She took a deep breath and nodded. "I want to go home. I'm going home now."

"Yes, we should go. I'll come with you."

Lucy nodded again.

They walked back over to Raj, Amelia, and Dumbledore. They said goodbye, Minerva claiming that she wasn't feeling very well and would not be able to come out for a late night snack. Lucy text Tonks to let her know she was tired and would just head home. She apologized but Tonks messaged back that it was no problem at all.

Minerva and Lucy apparated back to Lucy and Tonks's apartment. Lucy changed out of her dress and put on a kettle. They took their tea to the living room and sat down on the couches.

"I suppose I just thought that most people would think what I was doing was pretty cool, I guess," Lucy mumbled quietly as she leaned back on the couch and took a sip of her tea. "I knew that there were people who wouldn't like it but I thought most of the general public would be okay with it. I'm doing good things, aren't I? I'm using my magic for good."

"You are. You're doing a lot of great things. You must understand, my love, that the Magical community still have some antiquated ideas about Muggles and the Muggle World. I think a lot of them are still scared of what may happen if we are revealed to the Muggles and, of course, Cornelius is a politician. He is going to find those fears and pray on them. He thinks that catching Enchantress would be an easy way to start off his second term as Minister on the right foot. He thinks it would be an easy way to increase his favorability quickly."

"He underestimates how difficult it will be to catch me, then. It's been three months and they've come nowhere close and now I have an in at the Auror Office to let me know exactly what they're planning."

Minerva sighed. "Be careful, Lucy. Overconfidence can lead to stupid mistakes that could lead to your arrest and I would not expect Cornelius to do anything less than through the book at you. He will want to send a message, not only to the rest of the British Magical community but to the international one as well. He wants the rest of the world to see that he can control his own population."

"I'm not overconfidence. I know how to take care of myself, don't worry, Mum." Lucy smiled at her mother. "Minister Fudge is going to regret promising that he would catch Enchantress by his inauguration in January."

Minerva closed her eyes tightly. "Oh no."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Okay so I know that I promised more regular updates but then school and exams and just writers block got in the way... I am very sorry. I hope that there are still people wanting to read this story. Next chapter coming very soon! I have some time off so I'm hoping to get a lot done during it. Thank you for reading and please leave me a comment letting me know what you think and if you are still here reading my work.


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